


Our Version Of Events.

by JamieB93



Series: The Stark Boys Saga [4]
Category: Daredevil (TV), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: BAMF Peter Parker, F/M, Harley Keener & Peter Parker Friendship, Harley Keener & Peter Parker are Siblings, M/M, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker is a Good Bro, Peter Parker is a Little Shit, Protective Harley Keener, Protective Peter Parker, Tony Stark Acting as Harley Keener's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:47:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 63,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21939196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JamieB93/pseuds/JamieB93
Summary: MJ says he's changed, Tony can barely look at him and Thaddeus Ross stands to get away with everything.Peter Parker's one aim in life is to keep the people he loves safe and happy. Along the way, he discovers that in order to keep some people together, you have to be willing to let yourself fall apart.
Relationships: Betty Brant & Harley Keener, Betty Brant & Peter Parker, Harley Keener & Harry Osborn, Harley Keener & Ned Leeds, Harley Keener & Peter Parker, Harley Keener & Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Harry Osborn & Peter Parker, James "Bucky" Barnes/Sam Wilson, Matt Murdock & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones & Harley Keener & Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones & Harry Osborn, Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: The Stark Boys Saga [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1540735
Comments: 45
Kudos: 109





	1. sins of the fathers, virtues of the sons.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! This is part of a series! There's a lot of information in this story that will seem strange to you if you haven't read my previous story in this series Show Me What I'm Looking For. I encourage you to read it but it is 380k words long so I totally appreciate if you cannot be bothered, so if anything doesn't make sense to you or needs clarifying, feel free to ask in the comments and I'll be happy to fill you in.
> 
> Happy Christmas and I hope you enjoy the story!

**sins of the fathers, virtue of the son.**

Christmas Eve and Stark Industries was holding its yearly Christmas party in the newly refurbished and improved Stark Tower. Pepper and Tony had worked for months to get in renovated following the bombing by HYDRA just four months before and by all accounts, despite giving birth in the middle of the planning, Pepper had once again proven herself to be the world’s most organized woman and the repair work had been completed six weeks ahead of schedule. As it did every year, the twelfth-floor ball room filled up with some of the biggest names in New York politics, industry and entertainment. There were politicians, CEO’s, members of congress and the press mingling amongst the Avengers. 

Also present were Peter Parker and Harley Keener, two rambunctious adopted teenagers who were under strict instructions not to overly sass anyone overly important. Tony didn’t lay down the law very often, but he’d had to about this, they couldn’t afford to have any negative publicity come from this evening as J. Jonah Jameson was on the guest list and had just been waiting for an opportunity to see the Starks trip up in some way and Tony was damned if it was going to be in his own home. Peter agreed. Jameson’s newest vendetta was against Spider-Man, which made him more than a little apprehensive to be in the same room as the man for too long. 

This wasn’t Peter’s first Stark Industries Christmas Event but it may as well have been. The previous Christmas Eve, he had only been living with Pepper and Tony for a few months and was still something of a closely regarded secret. Only those who were really in the know knew about Pepper and Tony Stark’s adopted street rat. It had been funny watching the great and powerful of New York City pretend like they’d been in the know about Peter for months in order to save face, knowing they were all full of shit. This year was different. A totally different ball game.

Peter was famous now. It had only been a matter of time but being kidnapped by HYDRA during the summer had led his newly adoptive family with little choice but to reveal that yes, they had adopted him and Harley Keener. That brought the world’s spotlight on to the two dynamic, funny, charming and handsome teenagers and it couldn’t seem to get enough of them. Whilst it meant a lot of changes in every regard of their lives, within the context of the Stark Industries Christmas Party, it meant that Peter was suddenly someone that people wanted to talk to and not about. Harley was the same. 

“I swear if one more publicist tries to bring me over to the dark side, I’m going to throw a shrimp cocktail down their shirt” Harley grumbled as he propped himself up on to a bar stool next to Peter, “’Oh Mr. Keener, we fell you could be the most important teen celebrity since Kylie Jenner’, what an insult. I’m better than her in every way. If I did a make-up line, it’d outsell hers in a week.”

“Try it” Peter smirked, “Pepper keeps encouraging us to invest in our sudden wealth and fame, why not take down the Kardashians whilst we’re at it?”

“Careful” Harley warned, “Kris is here somewhere. That woman has the ears of a bloodhound.”

“Damn, good thing MJ decided not to come” Peter replied with a chuckle, “She’d probably be lecturing her about ethical production designs and whatnot.”

“You need to tell the world you have a girlfriend at some point” Harley said grimly, “All those twelve-year old’s on Twitter are living in false hope.”

“I might get the S guy to pretend he has a girlfriend” Peter shrugged, “Might take some of the heat off of me for a while.”

Harley nudged Peter to prompt him to be quiet as Jameson appeared behind them and asked the bartender for another glass of champagne. He gave Peter and Harley an awkward nod before receiving his glass and walking back to his assistant, who looked as if she wanted to be literally anywhere else in the world. Peter empathized. 

Jameson had recently published a ‘Top Ten Most Likely Spider-Man suspects’ list which had featured Peter in seventh place, rather bafflingly three spots behind Harley, who had been very quick to rub this apparent victory in his adoptive brother’s face. Timothee Chalamet had topped the list, something which Peter found highly amusing. 

“Man, there’s more bullshit in this room than in the entirety of Rose Hill, Tennessee and that’s saying something” Harley noted as he watched Jameson start up a conversation with Bruce, “I cannot believe that rich people are literally as boring, fake and self-obsessed as I’ve been assuming them to be. The lack of independent thought in this room is staggering.”

“Yeah, Tony’s become weirdly down-to-earth over the last few years” Peter mused, “It’s like he’s not even a real rich person anymore. If he was, we could have at least had some form of frame of reference from what to expect at these things.”

“I think, most of all” Harley said as he gulped an entire champagne flute in one, “I just really can’t wait for all these people to fuck off out of my house.”

Peter smirked as he lightly sipped on his own champagne glass. They’d been forbidden from drinking at the party and had initially agreed but about half an hour in had realized there was absolutely no way they were going to be able to get through this sober. 

They were also still looking for a sufficient excuse to leave but hadn’t found one. That was, until, Sam Wilson walked into the party alone. Peter perked up. No Harry. 

Through a confusing and upsetting string of events during the summer, Peter had discovered that his school friend Darren Davenport was not only not called Darren Davenport but Harry Osborne, as well as that Harry was his cousin (and thus his only living blood relative) and that Harry’s father had been intent on killing him as an act of revenge against Peter’s late father. This had all culminated in a grand plot that involved several high up government officials sanctioning Peter being kidnapped and taken to Russia. Steve Rogers had died saving him and then when Harry’s father Norman was about to finish off the job, Harry had shot and killed him on the spot. Only a select few people knew that last part.

Since then, Harry had been taken in by Sam and Bucky Barnes and had sort of shut himself off from the world. Peter had been trying to see him regularly but Harry had been struggling in the run up to Christmas so Sam entering the party solo wasn’t exactly a surprise.

But it was an opportunity. 

“Hey kiddo” Sam said warmly as Peter rushed towards him and gave him a hug, “Is this place really lacking in atmosphere, or is it just me?”

“Not just you” Peter replied with a laugh as Harley caught up to them, “No Harry then?”

“Nah, he’s still flatlining on misery” Sam sighed, “I’m hoping he’ll at least come around for Christmas tomorrow, but I wouldn’t put money on it. He seems determined to deprive himself of a good time. Guilt, I guess. We’ve told him it’s dumb.”

“Damn right it’s dumb” Peter snapped, “I’ve been telling him for months he’s not to blame, and that I’ve pretty much forgiven him for that whole awkward he-kinda-knew-I-was-being-tortured-but-didn’t-say-anything business.”  
Sam smirked as ruffled Peter’s hair fondly.

“Oh Parker, you really are one a kind” he chuckled.

“So, you left Bucky with him then?” Harley asked. He’d taken a while to be able to forgive Harry for what had happened during the Summer but had more or less arrived at that point by now. 

“Well, seemed to make sense” Sam replied, “Buck hates things like this too and I was the one who promised Pep at least one of us would put in an appearance. She felt like one of us should be here for the dumb unveiling of that Steve ice sculpture.”

Peter sighed at the mention of Steve’s name. Life was still strange without him. 

“How was Harry when you left?” Peter asked, “What was he doing?”

“Heading into his room looking miserable” Sam shrugged, “I’ve made Buck promise to check in on him every half an hour or so, but I think he’s had enough of us trying to talk him around. Something tells me he might benefit from a fresh perspective and maybe….a visit from his favourite and only living relative?”

Peter rolled his eyes. He knew that one was coming.

At least it was a solid and legitimate way out of the party. Harley jumped on the bandwagon as well, offering to slap Harry out of it if needs be, and they raced off to find Pepper. She wasn’t over the moon about them ditching the party but allowed them to go, nonetheless.

“Get Happy to drive you” she said, “I think he’s one Merry Christmas away from punching someone.”

Happy had moved at a speed neither boy thought he was capable of when Peter found him and asked him to drive them to Sam and Bucky’s apartment downtown. Harley followed as they climbed into one of the Stark Industry cars and set off for chez Wilson. 

“You know” Harley slurred, slightly tipsy on champagne, “I think you might be the nicest person in the world, Peter Parker. Like, I know I say that to you a lot, but I kind of mean it….like, really mean it-“

“Why do I live in a world where you’re a sloppy drunk” Peter moaned as Harley giggled and tucked himself into Peter’s side, kissing him on the cheek.

“And affectionate!” he said as hit Peter on the arm, “Don’t forget affectionate, or I’ll make you tuck and roll out of this car onto the cold wintery streets of New York City.”

“Yes, you’re very affectionate” Peter sighed, “Jeez, did you have more champagne than I knew about?”

“No, I had vodka too.” Harley giggled, “Where are we going again?”

“We’re going to spread Christmas joy and lift Harry out of his self-destructive shame spiral” Peter replied impatiently.

“Ah, yes, of course” Harley slurred as he lifted his head off of Peter’s shoulder, “Right, then, I need to sober up and become pragmatic Harley. Hogan! Put the windows down and get me a cheeseburger. I need to sober up.”

Happy complied but muttered something under his breath about this being way above his pay grade. Yet, he bought Harley a double cheeseburger and fries. 

*

“Ready?”

“Ready!”

“Sober?”

“Getting there.”

“Good enough” Peter sighed as he closed the door, “Are you sure you don’t want to come in Happy? I hate to think of you out here on your own.”

“I’m good thanks” Happy said with a smile as he opened up his own McDonalds meal, “If I didn’t come in that time we thought Harley had appendicitis, I’m not coming in now.”

“Hey, in my defense, it was really intense stomach ache” Harley huffed as Peter laughed, hooked his arm around Harley’s and began the walk up to Sam and Bucky’s apartment. They had moved from their old, dank place to the penthouse that Tony had rented for everyone when the Tower had been blown up during the Summer. 

Which, fortunately, meant Peter had his own keys for the place and could gain some form of vague amusement from just walking in on whatever Bucky was doing. He hadn’t expected it to be the ex-Winter Soldier pouring water on to his Japanese Peace Lily with Andy Williams’ Christmas album playing in the background but Peter had come to expect the unexpected in his life. 

Bucky smirked and smiled when he saw the boys enter.

“Knew it’d only be a matter of time until you two showed up” he said brightly. Peter returned his smile and Harley just about managed one, he still sometimes struggled to differentiate this Bucky from the brainwashed assassin who had stabbed him a few months previously. 

“Nice plant you got there” Peter said with a sly smile, folding his arms, “Didn’t know you were so in tune with your sensitive side, Barnes.”

“Well, I missed out on it for like…sixty years” Bucky shrugged, “Figured I had some nurture catch up to do, and Sam said this was easier than a Dog. Though how he grounded that logic with taking in an emotionally distraught grief-stricken teenager I can’t quite work out, but we’ve done pretty well with Harry, all things considered.”

“That why he’s sitting alone in his bedroom on Christmas Eve?” Harley asked. 

“Not for long” Bucky said with a smile, “Cos you two are here now and I’m damned if I’ve met anyone who can resist your bland of terrifying but charming charisma when you’re together.”

“Let us at him then!” Harley announced, rubbing his hands together and charging past Bucky, not even flinching when Bucky gave him a pat on the shoulder. Peter smiled. They all quietly made a little more progress every day. 

“Merry Christmas, Buck” Peter said softly as he passed Bucky.

“Merry Christmas, Pete” Bucky choked in reply.

*

“I don’t deserve to be happy” Harry mumbled as Peter and Harley sat across from him on his bedroom floor. Peter had been expecting the room to be an angst-ridden tip but Harry actually seemed to be on top of his cleanliness. 

“Oh that’s BS and you know it” Peter snapped, “Look, I get it, alright? The first Christmas after Ben died, I felt exactly the same way. I shut myself off and refused to let anyone in. Not even May. I thought ‘why should I get to be happy and enjoy myself when Ben’s dead because of me’? And you know what, Harry? I was wrong. Ben wouldn’t have wanted me to be unhappy, he’d have wanted me to be happy and close to the people I loved. It’s the same for you.”

“It’s not” Harry sighed, “You didn’t literally kill Ben, did you? I know you felt like what happened was your fault Pete, but you didn’t pull the trigger that killed him. I did. I’m the only reason my father’s dead and after what I did to you on top of that….being happy? Celebrating Christmas? I can’t.”

“Harry, we’ve been through this” Peter implored his cousin, “You did what you had to do. Stop focusing on the fact you killed him and start focusing on the fact you saved me. He was going to kill me. I wouldn’t be here now if you hadn’t shot your father. I know it hurts and I know it’s hard, but you’re not going to move past this if you keep focusing on the bad stuff.”

Harley nodded along with Peter and, to his brother’s surprise, reached forward and took Harry’s hand in his. 

“There’s something you’re not telling us” Harley said softly, “You were moving past this. You were getting better, cos we were all talking about it. Something’s set you back and it’s not just because it’s Christmas, I think you’re just using Christmas as an excuse.”

Harry exhaled and sighed, Peter leaned further forward and took his other hand.

“Is that true, Harry?” he asked quietly. Harry ran his fingers over his face, took another deep breath and then squeezed Peter’s hand, “It is. OK. OK, there is another problem, that’s fine. We can deal with it together. You just need to tell us what it is.”

“You’re gonna think it’s dumb” Harry muttered, reaching into his hoodie pocket, “Cos, it’s what I should do. It’s the least I can do and yet, I can’t bring myself to face it. I owe everyone and I still can’t do it.”

“Do what?” Peter asked

“I got my summons, for Ross’s trial” Harry replied, pulling a letter out of his pocket, “I’ve got to stand up in front of the whole world and tell the whole truth and nothing but. Under oath. At the biggest trial in…well, for fucking ever. The whole world’s going to watch me have to stand there and spill out every dark secret my father ever had and I can’t fucking do it. I can’t. I know I should and I know we all knew this was coming, but I can’t do it.”

Peter sighed and felt a sinking feeling in his stomach and gently took the letter out of Harry’s hand. It was indeed correct. Thaddeus Ross was to be tried in March and Harry was listed as a witness for both the prosecution and the defense. He would be the subject, the focal point of the biggest trial in American history, the only living person who could really attest to the true nature of what the now dead Norman Osborne and Alexander Pierce had been planning with Ross. 

That would be hard enough, but Peter knew that Harry was also having to deal with the fact that if he was found to be lying to Congress, he would likely face a lengthy jail sentence himself. And there were a lot of things Harry would have to lie about. Killing his own father, for one thing. 

“Sorry dude, I don’t know what to say” Harley breathed once he’d glanced over the letter himself, “This sucks, yeah? This just plainly fucking sucks and I have no idea what to do, but that doesn’t mean we can’t figure something out. We’ll talk to Tony, Pepper, Nick Fury…whoever will listen. There’s a way this can all come good in the end, I’m sure of it.”

Harry nodded slowly but then turned his attention to his cousin. 

“Peter?” He asked, eyes seemingly searching for something in Peter the boy honestly didn’t know if he could provide, “What do you think?”

Peter gulped. He knew what Harry wanted. Harry knew everything. He knew that Peter was Spider-Man and all the things that came with that, he knew that they’d all conspired against Ross for weeks in order to bring him down, he knew that Nick Fury had illegally smuggled several teenagers into a highly dangerous situation without parental permission, he knew that the Avengers were secretly harboring an enhanced little boy named Nate and that Miles Morales was also a crime fighting vigilante. He was secretly living with James Buchanan Barnes, a man the government were very interested in talking too. As much as Harry could seal the fate of Thaddeus Ross for the rest of his life, there were also a lot of people on Peter’s side he could damage with the truth as well. 

“You have to do what is right for you” Peter concluded, “You have to do whatever’s going to make your life easier, to help you carry on recovering. Cos you’re doing so well, Harry, you really are.”

“Peter, I’ll lie for you” Harry offered tearfully, “I will. I know lying and pretending like I didn’t know anything is going to let Ross get away with it but it also keeps you safe, all of you. And I feel like I owe you the happiest life you can get more than I owe you seeing Ross get sent down for the rest of his life.”

Peter nodded; Harley looked deep in thought.

“You may not have a choice, Harry” he said seriously, “Ross is bound to bring up all that shit himself anyway, and if you lie about it under oath, you’ll go to prison.”

“Maybe that’s what I deserve” Harry shrugged, “I stood by and let them torture Peter for weeks. That alone is enough to send me away for a really long time.”

“Not an option” Peter said empathically, “Harley’s right. There must be a way we can get through this without anyone going to prison who doesn’t deserve it. Me included.”

“What though?” Harry asked.

Peter paused for a moment.

“I could reveal I’m Spider-Man” he said after a few seconds. Both boys gasped, “Beat Ross too it. If I come out as Spider-Man before the trial, we can control the narrative. It’ll completely re-frame the whole trial, make us look less secretive and like we had anything to hide. We can go into the reasons why I kept my identity secret. People will respect that.”

“Peter, you need to think about this” Harley warned his brother, “You just said it yourself, there are reasons why you kept being Spider-Man a secret. What about them?”

“It was for anonymity, Harley” Peter replied, “That’s gone out of the window anyway, I might as well let people know I’m actually Spider-Man, what do I have to lose at this point?”

“But, Pete, you don’t know it’ll work out” Harry piped up, “Ross could still spin it his own way. And everything we kept a secret still stands.”

“I know that” Peter sighed, “But…I genuinely don’t think we have any other choice, guys. If we get ahead of Ross, we control the narrative. We take that power away from him. Why Ross would want to kidnap me becomes less of an important question in the trial, people don’t understand why he did it at the moment. They know he would never have needed the money. If people find out it was because I’m secretly an enhanced vigilante-“

“It proves the accusations against Ross” Harley concluded.

“Harry would only have to back up what’s already been revealed” Peter said brightly, “Yeah, there’s bound to be some awkward questions in there but we can work those out beforehand. We’ve got three months to get it right.”

“Are you sure you’re OK with this, Peter?” Harry asked quietly. Peter took a deep breath.

“It’s not ideal, but I don’t see we have any other choice” he shrugged, “Tony and Pepper are gonna freak but I think they’ll eventually see it’s the right thing to do. I think they’ve probably already recognized that it’s an inevitability anyway. To pretend otherwise was a fantasy.”

“Timothee Chalamet’s publicist will be relieved, at least” Harley smirked and all three boys fell about laughing. 

Harry seemed to brighten up a little after that. He came out his room and engaged in some board games with Bucky, Harley and Peter for the rest of the evening until Happy pounded on the door and demanded that Peter and Harley come back to the tower with him immediately, as he was very bored.

To everyone’s delight, Harry then put in an appearance at Christmas Dinner the next day. It was the longest table Peter had ever seen. All the Avengers, bar Thor, were present and Clint happily appeared with Laura and the kids having finally been allowed to sleep in the house and not the barn. Harry sat in between Peter and Bucky, happily making conversation with anyone who would start one with him. Morgan spat up on him but he took it all in his stride.

Peter couldn’t help but feel a little melancholic as he watched his large, sprawling family enjoy themselves that afternoon. Ross’s trial loomed over them all. There were no guarantee’s. Ross was smart, and Peter knew there was a very high chance that some or all of them could easily land themselves in a whole heap of trouble if Ross decided he had nothing left to lose and threw them all under the bus.

Then, it hit Peter.

Like a bolt of lightning.

Ross needed something to lose.

He needed hope. He needed a reason to lie and deny everything that he was charged with. That was what he was still doing but with every passing day, his legal situation seemed to get bleaker. It was only a matter of time until he plead guilty and then everything would come spilling out. It would have to. Ross was a petty, bitter man and Peter knew he’d take them all down with him if he knew there was no hope for him.

Ross needed hope.

He needed a reason to believe there was a chance he could be proven innocent. They all knew he was enough of a worm to slither away and leave them all be if he thought there was a chance he could not spend one second of his life behind a prison cell.

His mind racing at a million miles an hour, Peter excused himself from the table and headed into his bedroom. Quickly, he pulled out his burner cell and voice altering software before dialing the number of the Daily Bugle.

As it was Christmas Day, he got sent straight to the answering machine. Even Jameson took a day off, it turned out. 

“Mr. Jameson, I can’t say who I am” Peter whispered into the device, “But I’m an insider with information regarding the Thaddeus Ross trial. I have it on good authority that Mr. Ross was merely an innocent third party, hoodwinked and blackmailed by Mr. Pierce and Mr. Osborne. I will deliver my proof to you by mail within the next week. Be in Central Park at 11.30am on January 2nd. I will give you all the information you need then.”

Peter hung up the phone, sighed and closed his eyes as he turned around to see Harley standing in his doorway with his arms folded and his eyebrows raised. 

“Seriously, can’t a guy get a moment’s peace around here?” he asked with a smug grin on his face, “I mean, it’s just ridiculous.”

“You sly little bastard, you’ve got something up your sleeve haven’t you” Harley said with a smile matching Peter’s now painted across his face. 

“Maybe” Peter smirked, “Let’s just say, once Christmas is out of the way, you and I are going on a little trip down memory lane. I’ve got a guy from the streets who owes me a little favor.”

“Sweet and innocent Peter Parker? Where’s he at?” Harley asked.

“Oh, he’s still here” Peter shook his head as he replied, “And he’s going to come back at just the right time, once we’ve got what we need.”

“I need details” Harley said, raising his eyebrows, “As I definitely feel like I could already be facing a lengthy stretch inside for just having this conversation.”

“FRIDAY, make sure to erase this from your archives” Peter said to the ceiling, “Or at least re-dub it with us ranting about that dumb Cats movie again.”

“Very well, young boss” FRIDAY replied. 

“Just when I thought life was getting simple!” Harley sighed as he sat down on Peter’s bed, “Guess that was never in the pipeline for us, was it?”

“Definitely not” Peter confirmed, sitting down next to him, “What we’re about to is risky, dangerous, stupid and very, very illegal….are you sure you’re in?”

“Please” Harley rolled his eyes, “If a proposition doesn’t involve at least one of those things, I’m not going to do it. All four? You better count me in.”

“Seems like Matt Murdock is going to be in for quite the New Years surprise” Peter grinned. 


	2. the search for wilson & murdock.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I know you’re worried, but I’m doing this for the right reasons” he assured her, “I know it’s a little shady but I have to do it. I’m willing to do anything if it means Ross doesn’t walk free. Anything.”
> 
> MJ pursed her lips and nodded.
> 
> “I mean, I am here looking for this lawyer guy with you” she said as she pursed her lips, “The fact I’m so willing to break federal law for you must mean something.”
> 
> “You’ll be safe” Peter promised her, “You’re not going to get dragged into this. I refuse to let that happen; I’ve got the perfect cover stories planned….I just need to think of them first.”
> 
> “Leave that to us” Harley said with a smile, “We’re the ones taking a creative writing elective, Peter, you just focus on truth and justice and all that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy Chapter 2! Hope everyone had a nice Christmas!

**the search for wilson & murdock **

The day after Christmas found Peter heading back to his old haunts from the streets with Harley and MJ for company. MJ had twigged that the boys were up to something a little shady the second she’d arrived at the Tower that morning and Peter had folded, revealing their plan to have shady lawyer Matt Murdock falsify official documents ‘proving’ that Thaddeus Ross did not know about any plot to abduct innocent American teenagers from their homes and turn them into enhanced super soldiers. Peter hoped that Ross would run with the chance, double-down on his not guilty plea and thus allow him to be able to come out as Spider-Man and prove once and for all that Ross knew all along. Ross needed the hope or he’d be tempted to drag the rest of the Avengers down with him.

“I’m not super happy about all of this” MJ said as the three teenagers walked through a particularly rough borough of Queens that Peter frequented during his homeless spell, “Peter, won’t you get into trouble if you come out as Spidey? You never signed the accords, technically what you’ve been doing is illegal. Noble and brave and so, so sexy but illegal all the same.”

“Risk I’m willing to take” Peter shrugged, “I can’t imagine I’ll get in that much trouble, might have to fall back on my new rich white kid privileges.”

“New York’s on your side anyway” Harley piped up, “The court of public opinion is the one that matters here, the city will be behind Peter no matter what. Not to mention the whole world loves Peter Parker as Peter Parker now as well. He’ll just be doubling the love.”

“Yeah, I guess” MJ sighed, clearly still not one hundred percent comfortable with the situation.

Peter stopped in his tracks, turned to face her and took her hands in his.

“I know you’re worried, but I’m doing this for the right reasons” he assured her, “I know it’s a little shady but I have to do it. I’m willing to do anything if it means Ross doesn’t walk free. Anything.”

MJ pursed her lips and nodded.

“I mean, I am here looking for this lawyer guy with you” she said as she pursed her lips, “The fact I’m so willing to break federal law for you must mean something.”

“You’ll be safe” Peter promised her, “You’re not going to get dragged into this. I refuse to let that happen; I’ve got the perfect cover stories planned….I just need to think of them first.”

“Leave that to us” Harley said with a smile, “We’re the ones taking a creative writing elective, Peter, you just focus on truth and justice and all that.”

MJ smirked and took Peter’s hand as they carried on walking. Peter felt a little apprehensive. He’d completely cut himself off from everyone he’d got to know on the Streets since going to live with Tony and Pepper nearly two years before. They hadn’t all been bad. Some of them had been nice, some of them had even helped him from time to time, and Matt Murdock and Wade Wilson were the ones who really stuck out in Peter’s memory as being the people he could go to for help.

But, Wade could be tad childish and petty sometimes and Peter didn’t doubt that the man would probably slam his door in Peter’s face when he saw him again. Wade had always bad mouthed The Avengers and there was no way he didn’t now know that’s where Peter had wound up. Matt would probably be a little more welcoming, he was always hands off enough with Peter that he never really got a handle on what might piss him off but Peter guessed Murdock would at least need a little persuasion to go along with their scheme. 

“It’s just around this corner” Peter muttered after a few minutes of walking in slightly tense silence, “I don’t think Matt will be in his office today, though, being the day after Christmas and all.”

“Then…what’re we doing, exactly?” MJ asked

“Well, I’m going to break into the office and leave a note” Peter said calmly, “Murdock will get back to me as soon as he sees it, for curiosity’s sake if nothing else.”

“And that other guy…Wilson, what do we need him for?” Harley asked, “Unless he knows how to doctor official documents as well, I don’t really get why you feel the need to drag him into all of this. He sounds like an utter loose cannon by the way.”

“Well, for one thing, if he finds out I asked Matt to help and not him he’ll get all petty and weird” Peter sighed, “But he is a useful guy to have on your side, especially considering we can’t exactly go to Tony and Pepper with this. Wade’s theatrical. He likes to play games, he’s the perfect person to hand those documents over to Jameson.”

“Do you trust him?” MJ asked pointedly 

“Yeah” Peter sighed, “Yeah, I trust him. You’ll wonder why at first, but once he cares about you…well, he cares about you for life. And he cared about me.”

“That’s good enough for me then” MJ replied with a smile, “Think he’ll be mad at you though?”

“Yeah, he wasn’t a big fan of Tony or any of the Avengers really” Peter sighed, “Don’t think he’ll be too thrilled to find out I’ve moved in with them. He always told me to avoid going straight, doing things by the book, reckoned it never got anyone anywhere. Times like this I kinda wonder if he was right.”

“Just sounds like he doesn’t know Tony or Nat” Harley reasoned, “They’re not exactly bookish, straight shooters are they?”

“They have to look as if they are though” Peter shot back, “After the whole Accords mess, the whole team has to look like they’re playing ball with the law. That’s why Ross talking could be so toxic for us. Not only might everyone get their asses thrown in jail, the public could turn on them as well. That’s the reality Wade sees.”

“But will he care about that too much?” MJ asked, “I know you said he cared about you, but you haven’t seen one another for over a year, and if you’re living with people he doesn’t like – will he be able to get passed that?”

“No one’s immune to my puppy dog eyes, babe” Peter said with a wink, causing MJ to roll hers as the three teenagers carried on and turned the street to where Matt’s office was.

Or had been.

Peter sighed as the street came into view and he saw that the building where Matt Murdock once housed his practice had been torn down. Disappointed, Peter ran towards the derelict structure and tried to find some trace of where Matt could have moved to.

“Shit” he said out loud, angrily throwing a brick as Harley and MJ caught up with him, “Guess it was naïve to think it’d be this easy.”

*

Two days later and there was no luck in tracking down Wilson or Murdock. Peter had asked around the neighborhood, but no one seemed to know where they’d gone. Wade hadn’t been seen in New York for over a year and Matt also seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth. Peter wondered if Matt’s practice had gone bust. He knew the man well enough to know he’d have probably moved out of the entire state from pure shame if that had happened, but Peter was determined not to give up, but they were running out of time if they were going to make their arrangement with Jameson. He’d left a message on Peter’s burner phone on the 27th confirming that he, or one of his associates, would be in Central Park at the agreed meet up time on the 2nd of January. That gave Peter only five days to find Matt and Wade, get them to agree to his plan and execute it without any of the hyper-vigilante, hyper-paranoid group of enhanced superheroes he lived with cottoning on to anything.

They also had a New Year’s Eve party to plan, as they needed to keep up the appearance of everything being fine in their lives.

“Well, there’s no point saying you can have a party of your own” Pepper said over dinner on the night of the December 28th, “Considering we’re having our annual Stark Industries party on the same night, so you might as well just invite your friends to that.”

“Are you sure?” Harley asked with a smirk

“Well, if you’d befriended a load of hooligans who I felt were going to deface and destroy parts of our home, I’d maybe think twice” Tony replied, “But I highly doubt the likes of Betty and Ned are going to turn up on my doorstep, smuggling booze and ready to reap havoc. Besides, it’ll be nice to have as many normal people around as we can in the middle of all the board members and city big wigs.”

“What level of big wig are we talking?” Peter asked. He was still focused on finding Wade and Murdock, he couldn’t help but wonder if there’d be someone at the party who could help him. Normally he’d just ask Natasha if he needed any help tracking someone down but for obvious reasons he couldn’t involve her in his plans just yet. 

“Oh, the usual” Pepper replied with a heavy sigh, “Politicians, Business associates, big wigs, oh and I’ve invited the new police chief commissioner and his family. His name’s George Stacy, I think.”

“That guy?” Rhodey said with his eye-brows raised, “He’s a real hard ass, Pep. Made it pretty clear that he doesn’t approve of what we do over the years.”

“All the more reason for inviting him then” Pepper shrugged, “We need to have a good relationship with law enforcement, we’re walking a very fine line these days, especially if Ross does somehow get off. The president’s already committed to giving him his job back if he’s exonerated.”

“Probably just trying to cover his own miserable ass” Harley huffed, “I’m sure it went all the way to the top, there’s no way he didn’t know.”

“Good luck proving it, kiddo” Tony sighed as he took a drink, “I’m with Pep though. We need to offer an olive branch to Mr. Stacy; he could be a useful ally going forward. We’re all charming and charismatic enough to sway him over to our side.”

“Even me?” Peter asked, eyebrows raised.

“So much it scares me” Tony replied without missing a beat, “Word to wise though, Pete, he’s not a big Spidey fan.”

Peter paled a little.

“How’d you know that?” he asked.

“Did you not watch the news for like the past month?” Rhodey asked, “He considers Spider-Man a criminal, because you never signed the accord agreements and you’ve kept your identity a secret. BS, of course, but it’s reason to tread lightly.”

Harley gulped.

“So, you’re saying he’d probably arrest Peter if he found out?” the boy asked, shooting Peter a look of concern that was not returned by the enhanced teenager. 

“I’m saying it wouldn’t be good” Rhodey replied grimly

“Would he go after Miles as well?” Peter asked slowly, thinking of the fourteen-year-old from Queens who’d been covering for him whilst his powers had been temporarily blocked.

“Yes, but you’ve been pretending it’s the same Spider-Man” Rhodey pointed out, “Miles’ identity is safer than yours. People think there’s only one Spider-Man.”

Peter nodded, somewhat reassured that he had an easy path to protect Miles if needs be. 

“And it’s all moot anyway” Tony said firmly, “Because Peter’s identity is remaining a secret until at least his eighteenth birthday. George Stacy isn’t going to find out.”

“Lots of people already know, though” a now very pale Harley replied, “Like a lot. What if one of us slips up at the party and says too much?”

“Everyone’s done pretty well for like six months now, Harls” Peter said softly, eyeing his brother with suspicion, wondering exactly what it was that had panicked him somewhat. “There’s nothing to worry about.”

Harley stayed quiet after that, quickly excusing himself from the table once everyone had finished their food, Pepper giving Peter the nod to follow him not long after. Peter got up from the table and ran to Harley’s room where he found his adoptive brother sitting with his knees pressed to his chest on the floor at the edge of his bed, breathing heavy in the midst of a panic attack. Peter knew the sensation all too well and sat himself down next to Harley, putting a hand on his back and moving it up and down his back in much the same fashion that Harley had done to him so many times.

“Why?” Peter asked softly after a few minutes, “What brought this on, Harls?”

“I’m scared” he admitted, “I’m scared of what’s going to happen to you. If this Stacy guys coming down hard on Spider-Man, you could get in real trouble.”

“I won’t” Peter attempted to assure him, “There’s no way Tony would let that happen. They’d find a way around it, Harls, you know they would.”

“But that’s the point!” Harley exclaimed, “You’re so blasé about all of this, Peter. We’ve been working so hard since the summer to get better, to teach you that it’s OK to self-preserve, and you’re willfully ignoring it. It’s like, after everything, you still care about yourself the least.”

“Harley, I’m doing this because I care about myself” Peter sighed, “I’m doing this because I know I’ll never be able to sleep again or rest easy if Ross gets off and just walks back into his job. He’ll come down on me like a ton of bricks if he does, with the full weight of the Government behind him. I’d probably end up in the Raft, we all would. Just because I’m willing to take a pre-emptive slap on the wrist beforehand to prevent that from happening doesn’t mean that I don’t care about myself. I’m just….planning ahead.”

“And that’s without even going into the injustice of it all” he continued, “Ricky and Steve are dead because of what that man did. We can’t get Osborne or Pierce anymore but we can get Ross. We can make sure he gets what’s coming to him.”

Harley eased up somewhat after that. They stayed in his bedroom for the rest of the night and Nate came in for his goodnight cuddles an hour or so later, a now nightly tradition.

“Upset” he said as he pointed almost accusingly at Harley, “Why’re you upset?”

“I’m fine, bud, I promise” Harley said back, Peter wondered how the hell Nate had been able to conclude such a thing. Harley had long since stopped crying, his breathing levels had returned to normal and it wasn’t as if he’d cried so much that his face had been left all red and blotchy. Visually, there was nothing to say that Harley had been upset but somehow Nate had cottoned on to it. Not even Wanda, having come by the room to borrow Harley’s hair dryer, who could literally see into people’s minds and feed off their emotions had guessed anything was wrong with the teenager. But Nate had. 

“No lies!” Nate announced, “You always say to me no lies, so you can’t lie either. You’re sad, Harley, why’re you sad? I don’t like it when you’re sad.”

Harley was cuddling Nate close to him and kissed him on the head.

“I just find this time of year a little hard” Harley replied, lying with ease, “Sometimes it’s good to just come and have a little cry, but there’s nothing wrong with me. Nothing for you to worry about little man.”

Nate did not seem convinced, he cuddled Harley tighter, before standing up on the boys knees and beginning to play with his hair. 

“Want me to stay with you?” he asked.

Peter saw as Harley sighed. It was clear he did want Nate to stay with him but Nate’s recently hired therapist had been quite keen on insisting that Nate sleep in his own bed as much as possible, noting his overreliance on Harley being unhealthy for both in the long-run. Peter agreed. He loved Nate to his bones, but Harley would eventually be leaving for college and if Nate was still dependent on him to fall asleep by that point then they were going to have real problems. 

“No, tonight’s a sleep in our own bed night” Harley said sadly, “But, I’m going to walk you to your bed, tell you a story and then I’ll see you first thing tomorrow morning, K?”

“OK” Nate said sadly, taking Harley’s hand as the older boy as he stood up.

Peter shot him a wink as Nate momentarily let go of Harley’s hand and tumbled into Peter.

“Night Petey” he said happily, kissing him on the cheek, “Love you.”

“Love you too buddy” Peter said, kissing Nate back on the cheek before Harley lead him away. Peter sighed and stood up, walking away from Harley and Nate and back into the living room where Natasha, Bruce and Wanda were all gathered. 

“Something on your mind, Pete?” Bruce asked as Peter crossed over and flopped down next to Natasha on the sofa, letting out a big sigh that did not go unnoticed and then allowing her to play with his hair, “Don’t be scared of what Rhodey and Tones were saying at dinner. They’re just trying to be cautious.”

“I’m not worried about that” Peter replied honestly, “Just got a lot on my mind at the moment.”

“What kind of stuff?” Natasha asked softly, “No one’s giving you any trouble, are they?”

“Nah, nothing like that” Peter sighed, “Just thinking about Harry. He’s still in a bit of a mess, and I’ve got…well, I dunno how to say this exactly…but I’ve got some worries about Nate as well.”

“Nate? Why?” Wanda asked, “He seems like he’s settling in really well.”

“Yeah, he seems happy” Peter agreed, “To be honest, it’s nothing about his actual welfare, it’s just more that I don’t think we fully know what he’s capable of. He’s very….this is gonna sound dumb, he’s very in tune with people’s emotions. Like, worryingly in tune. Like more in tune than you are Wanda.”

“How so?” Bruce asked, leaning forward in his chair.

“I won’t go into why cos he doesn’t want me to” Peter replied, “But Harley was crying earlier, nothing too big, I managed to calm him down and by the time Nate came to say goodnight to us Harley was fine. You’d never known he was upset to look at him but Nate did. He knew the second he saw it, and Wanda hadn’t even noticed when she came in.”

“Yeah, I had no idea” Wanda replied slowly, “Is Harley alright? Should we be worried?”

“Nah, like I said, I sorted it and he didn’t want me to say” Peter shrugged, “I just think we could stand to maybe start asking ourselves more questions about what Nate can do.”

“I’ll talk to Rhodey and Tones” Bruce replied with a sigh, “In all the chaos of the summer and Nate coming to live with us, we never did get around to really testing his powers in the same way we were able to do with you and Miles. He could have all sorts going on we know nothing about.”

“And what’s worrying you about Harry?” Natasha asked.

“Nothing specific, just general worry” Peter said with a shrug, “He’s still not coming to terms with everything and I don’t think the looming prospect of Ross’s trial is helping.”

“Sam and Bucky are taking good care of him, Pete” Natasha replied, “I check in every day, Sam’s doing therapy sessions with him, Harry will be just fine. Probably better once the trials over. We’re all likely going to be kind of frozen as we are now until that’s over and we can properly breathe.”

“Yeah, true” Peter replied quickly and quietly, not wanting to overly focus the conversation on Ross’s trial as much as he could, “So, that’s me spent. What crisis of emotions have you guys got going on right now?”

“Oh, he’s so cute when he deflects” Natasha said with a smirk, “We’re all doing fine, kiddo. Everything’s good. Mostly. Just focus on all the good things you got going on at the moment and stop waiting for things to go wrong.”

Peter gave her a weak smile back. It wasn’t that he felt particularly anxious or unhappy about everything but having so many spinning plates in the air would make anyone feel noxious after a while. 

*

“Wilson’s in jail!” MJ announced happily the next morning when Peter and Harley met her in the Queens Public Library as planned, she slid across an old copy of The Times from a year before with Matt and Wade on a double spread on the third page, “Murdock defended him and then skipped town when Wilson was found guilty. I knew their names sounded familiar.”

“How did I miss all this?” Peter asked quietly as he skimmed through the report. He smirked as he read that Wade had been sentenced to eighteen months imprisonment for setting fire to some guys’ apartment but ended up taking a deeply anxious inhale when he saw the picture of the man whose apartment Wade had set fire to.

Peter knew that man. It was the man from Manhattan. The man whom Peter assumed he could trust, the man who had taken that assumption and trust and used it to hurt and betray Peter in the worst possible way. The man who had raped him.

His name was Skip Westcott. Peter felt his heart pound. Somehow knowing the guys name was so much worse. Literally putting a name to the face of his rapist made it all so much more real. 

That couldn’t be a coincidence, surely. Peter had never told anyone about all that Skip did to him until he’d blurted it out to Harry, Liz and Miles in Russia. Harley knew bits and pieces, but Peter had no idea how Wade had ended up finding out. Because why else would he have set fire to the man’s apartment? 

“Mr. Wilson initially plead not guilty to the charge of arson” Harley read out-loud, “However, he did confess to starting the fire in Mr. Westcott’s Manhattan apartment. Wilson argued that he was justified in setting fire to Mr. Westcott’s apartment as Westcott had apparently hurt someone he cared about. Mr. Wilson refused to disclose exactly who this was or what Westcott had done, and Westcott himself accused Wilson of being a fantasist when asked by a reporter after the trial. Wilson was sentenced to eighteen months imprisonment, due for release December 2019.”

Peter felt sick. Wade knew. How the hell did Wade know? Peter had told him about his friend from Manhattan sure, but how the hell did Wade piece together what had happened, find the guy, find his name and address and take this level of revenge all without Peter knowing? And now he was in prison for it. 

“He’s due for release any day now” MJ was saying, bringing Peter crashing back into the conversation with startling ease, “I mean, it’s pretty late in December. He could have already got out.”

“And who’s to say he even came back to New York?” Harley sighed, “Maybe he went to meet up with Murdock, wherever he ended up.”

“No” Peter said quietly, “No, he can’t be out yet. He’d have told me; he’d have got in contact.”

“Why?” MJ asked, “Peter, you said yourself, he’s probably mad at you for walking away without so much as a goodbye. Why would you be his first port of call after he got out of prison?”

Peter exhaled a nervous breath. This was the moment. He didn’t want it to have come out like this, he’d thought of a million and one ways he could have told Harley and MJ – the two most important people in his life – the darkest thing that had ever happened to him and it hadn’t been in the middle of Queens public library. 

“Because I’m the reason he’s in there” Peter replied stoically, “That person in the article that he claimed he was defending was me. I’m the reason he burned down that Skip Westcott guys apartment.”

There was an eerie silence. MJ looked, understandably, confused but Harley seemed to have put the pieces together as he grabbed the paper from Peter’s hands and skimmed through the article again.

“Holy shit” he muttered to himself, “Manhattan. Of course. It’s him. Holy fuck, Pete- I thought, I thought you never told anyone else?”

“Told anyone what?” MJ asked, looking petrified, “Peter, what did this guy do to you?”

“Wade knew about him” Peter replied, “Maybe he didn’t trust him, I dunno, but he knew I was hanging out with a guy from Manhattan who was buying me warm food and drinks. I don’t know how he found out the rest though.”

“The rest of what?” MJ demanded tearfully in a whisper, “Will one of you please tell me what the fuck you’re on about? How badly did this guy hurt you that Wade felt the need to torch his apartment, Peter?”

Peter gave Harley an uneasy look. This was it. This was the moment that was going to change everything, test their loyalty to him, because they would surely run away now. It was all too much and Peter whimpered at the thought that he was about to lose both of them. 

He cried.

“Peter” MJ said softly as she took his hand, “You don’t have to tell me if you-“

“He raped me” Peter said quietly. Harley’s face paled once again and MJ took in a sharp breath before tears started rolling down her face as well, “Skip raped me. Harls, I know I told you all he did was…was make me…but no, he-he raped me. Held me down, took advantage of me in the worst way possible and then threw me out of his car and told me I was trash. I went to Wade that night, didn’t say anything to him though, but I guess he must have pieced it together. I never saw him again after that. He took himself out of town for a few days, and then I fell through the vents at Stark Tower pretty soon after and the rest is history.”

“Peter, I’m so sorry” MJ cried, squeezing his hand, “I’m so sorry that happened to you. I can’t-why did you never say anything?”

“I just wanted to pretend it never happened” Peter shrugged, “I wanted to forget it all, so I did. It was only when I had a meltdown last summer that I told Harley…well, I told you half the truth. I’m sorry Harls.”

“Don’t you dare apologize” Harley said angrily, Peter was taken aback, he’d never seen Harley look quite this mad before, “I should have known. I should have realized that-I let you down, Pete. We all let you down. The only person who didn’t was Wade.”

“No one let me down” Peter replied quietly, “No one let me down, no one had the chance. I never told anyone what had happened to me. I just….pushed it to the back of my mind. And Wade…god, I get that he was sticking up for me by doing this but it doesn’t change anything. Skip still did what he did to me and the only one who’s lost part of their lives for it is him.”

“Do Tony or Pepper know any of this?” Harley asked.

“No, and I don’t want them to. At least not for now.” Peter replied, “This changes things. This changes how I need to approach things with Wade. I can deal with Ross. I can deal with Skip. But I think trying to deal with both things at the same time is a bit beyond my reach, at the moment.”

“But he’s out there-“ Harley said venomously.

“Yes, he is” Peter shot back, “And now I know his name, we can track him. Or one of you guys can, I don’t think I’d be able to handle seeing him again. Make sure he won’t hurt anyone else. But I need to focus all of my energy on Ross. You understand?”

“I understand” MJ said softly, squeezing his hand, “God, Peter, you’re the bravest person I’ve ever known, I love you so much.”

“Right back at ya” Peter smiled, before turning his attentions to Harley, “Harls? I know you’re seething and you have every right to be….but c’mon, I need you with me on this one. I’m not saying we can’t get Skip but right now-“

“Don’t say getting Ross is more important” Harley snarled, “Getting them both is important. But-but I guess, Skip is your fight and you get to control when we start it so….I’ll do whatever you need me to. Just don’t ask me not to be angry Peter, because I’ve never been madder in my life.”

“Not…not with me?” Peter had to ask.

“No, not with you” Harley sighed, “I’m mad with the world. I’m mad with the world for using you as a punching bag when all you ever do is try and make things better for other people.”

Peter nodded and suggested they head back to the tower. Before they left, Harley tore apart the paper and pocketed the segment that gave Skip’s name, age and career. He respected what Peter wanted to the ends of the earth, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to make it his personal mission to make sure that until Peter was ready to come forward about what happened to him, Skip Westcott was not going to have the opportunity to hurt any more people.

As the three teens filed outside and waited for Happy to come and pick them up, Peter got wind of his Spidey-senses again and felt the urge to turn to his left.

His heart pounded once again as he saw Matt Murdock walking up the street towards them.

“Oh my god” he breathed, letting go of MJ’s hand and heading towards the man, “Oh my god, Matt? Is that really you?”

Matt stopped dead in his tracks and then smiled, placing a hand on Peter’s shoulder.

“Parker, I’d say it’s good to see you, but-“ he smirked and Peter returned the favor, “You feel like you’re finally eating at least semi-regular meals, so I’ll take that as a good sign.”

“Thanks” Peter chuckled, “I’m doing pretty well, I’ve been-“

“Living with Tony Stark? Yeah, I do listen to the news, kid” Matt said with a smile, “Personal feelings on the man aside, I’m glad you’re doing well, Pete. You deserve it, kiddo.”

“How’re you?” Peter asked, “Your building got-“

“Relocated” Matt shrugged, “Been in Chicago for the last year, only a flying visit to New York, I suppose you know about Wade?”

“Yeah, I…heard” Peter replied slowly, “Isn’t he due for release.”

“On New Year’s Eve” Matt replied with a chuckle, “Seems fitting somehow. I’ve said I’ll meet him from the prison, I don’t suppose you’d-“

“I’ll be there” Peter said with a nod, looking behind him as Happy rolled up, “Just give me the time and the place and I’ll meet you there. I gotta go now though.”

Matt smiled.

“Personal driver? You really did land on your feet, kid” he said with a smile, “Don’t begrudge you a minute of it, and I’m sure Wade won’t either. Even if it is with Stark. You’ll properly introduce me to your girlfriend the next time we see each other, though, yes?”

Peter turned to look at MJ and smiled. Matt’s lack of vision had never got in the way of seeing what was right in front of him.

“I will” Peter replied, “Could we meet before we get Wade? Tomorrow, maybe? Get a coffee, catch up properly, I need to cash in that favor you promised me.”

“Sure” Matt said happily, “I figured you would in the end. Wade’s not the only reason I came back to New York, I was hoping to run into you….we’ve got a lot to talk about.”

“Some of it’s even good!” Peter assured him, “Y’know, people tend to hyper-focus on the whole kidnapped and taken to Russia thing.”

“Gutsy as ever kid, I’m proud of you” Matt replied, “Now, get in your ride and let us poor lowly peasants make our ways to our cheap motels in peace would ya?”

Peter felt temped to give Matt a hug. They’d never hugged before. It just hadn’t been their relationship but since living with Tony and Pepper, hugging had become pretty much second nature to Peter, a testament to how far he’d come.

So, he was surprised when Matt was the one who initiated the hug and stroked the back of his hair.

“You’re a survivor, Parker” he said softly, “Just know that I wouldn’t have left town if I’d had any concerns over your safety. I knew you were with Stark; I knew that was the best place for you. If I hadn’t…well, I’d have probably taken you with me.”

“Did-did Wade tell you…?” Peter asked, “Cos I never told him that-“

“He did” Matt replied, “He told me everything. I so badly wanted him to be wrong but the second I saw that scumbag’s face I knew he wasn’t. I’m sorry, Pete, I should have checked in with you but by that time you were with Stark and it seemed cruel to drag you back down to our level.”

“You spied on me didn’t you?” Peter muttered

“I may have pulled up to the school every once in a while” Matt smirked, “Just to check that you were actually there, and that you seemed settled. Wade wanted me to.”

“You guys still had my back” Peter said in awe.

“You’re one of us, Pete, we’ll always have your back” Matt replied, “I’m happy we bumped into one another, Wade will be over the moon when he sees you waiting for him outside those prison gates. Of course, he’ll pretend he’s not but that’s just-“

“That’s Wade” Peter finished for him with a watery chuckle, “Thanks, Matt. I’ll-err, I’ll message you when and where for tomorrow.”

“Make sure you do kid” Matt said firmly, “Something tells me this favor you need from me is quite important to the outcome of a particular prolific Government officials upcoming trial.”

“Smart-ass” murmured Peter.

“You’re one to talk” Matt smirked. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter in New Year themed and should be up on either New Year's Eve or New Year's Day!
> 
> Please leave a comment with your thoughts on this one though, I'm pretty nervous about getting this story right!


	3. the fall guy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Pleasure to meet you both” Wade interrupted, “Any friend of Petey Pie’s is a friend of mine. Though I hear you’re a little more than just a friend, young lady.”
> 
> MJ rolled her eyes.
> 
> “Yeah, I’m his girlfriend” she said fiercely as she linked arms with Peter, “And I’m very protective of him, so watch your step.”
> 
> “MJ, we can trust Wade” Peter sighed.
> 
> “Oh, I don’t think he’d betray us” MJ replied, “But I do know that he’s more than willing to do something foolish and very, very public in order to hurt you and we don’t need that shit if we’re going to pull this shit off.”
> 
> “I agree!” Wade said brightly, “And trust me, I have no plans to go back to prison any time soon. Until this is all done with, I’ll be as quiet as a mouse. Publicly. In private, you may have to indulge me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys, fair warning there's a lot of references to peter's sexual abuse by skip in this chapter so watch out for that if it's something that's going to affect you.

**the fall guy**

Harley barely spoke a word for the rest of the evening and then most of the next day. Peter knew his brother was trying to come to terms with what he’d just learned and often times when Harley had to face harsh truths, he shut down and withdrew himself for a while in order to do so. Peter knew the signs, but unfortunately so did Pepper and Tony who were more than a little concerned about how withdrawn and blotchy-eyed Harley was when he returned from Queens with Peter. They managed to pass it off as Harley merely having continued holiday blues but Peter knew it was only a matter of time until Tony started to ask serious questions. 

After being mainly silent through dinner, only speaking when Nate asked him if he liked the taco’s that he and Rhodey had spent all afternoon preparing, Harley took himself off onto the roof to think. Peter managed to persuade everyone to agree to give him some space for a while and to let him be the one who reached out when Harley was ready. Their parents clearly weren’t over the moon about this but it was a pretty much universally acknowledged truth within the tower that Peter and Harley were the best ones to bring each other around from a funky mood.

So, having given Harley an hour outside by himself, Peter brought a wrap around blanket and tossed it over his brother’s shivering shoulders as he sat down next to him. Harley instinctively rested his head on Peter’s shoulders and allowed the enhanced teenager to comb his hands through his sandy-blonde curls.

“I can’t stop thinking about what happened to you” he said sadly after a few seconds of silence.

“Oh, Harley” Peter sighed, feeling an overwhelming rush of affection for his adoptive brother, “It’s….y’know, it’s something I’ve come to terms with. Not saying it doesn’t affect me, but-“

“I know, I know” Harley whined, “I’m just so fucking angry, Peter. I don’t think I’ve ever been so angry in all my life. I want to make that scumbag suffer and I never want to make anyone suffer. Not even Evan. Not even my Dad for leaving me. But him-I can’t even begin to tell you what I want to do to him.”

“Wow, you must be angry” Peter said in surprise, he’d never heard Harley talk with such venom before, “I don’t want you to think I don’t want the same but it’s hard, Harls. As well as the fact I just plain don’t want to talk about it, we’re talking about something that happened almost two years ago. There’s no evidence. It’s literally just my word against his. It’d all end up being for nothing.”

“That’s not right” Harley muttered angrily

“Just the way it is unfortunately” Peter said with a shrug, before sighing, “Like I said before, I’ve had to make my peace with that.”

Suddenly, Harley’s mood seemed to perk up and he lifted his head off of Peter’s shoulder with a wild, excitable look in his eye.

“What if there was another way of getting him?” he asked, practically vibrating, “If we can’t get him for what he did to you, at least we could get him off the streets so he won’t be able to hurt anyone else.”

“What are we going to do?” Peter asked incredulously, “Frame him for murder?”

“No, but we could frame him for falsifying Government documents” Harley replied, leaping up to his feet and moving in front of Peter, “We can find out where he works, right?”

“Yeah, easily” Peter replied slowly, “Harley, I don’t think-“

“Did you talk to Murdock about what you want to do when you met him earlier?” Harley asked. 

“Yeah, and he thinks it’s stupid and crazy” Peter replied with a chuckle, “But he also thinks he can one hundred percent pull it off and he’s in. I did mean to tell you before but-“

“I’ve been stewing all day, sorry about that” Harley said, “But I’ve been thinking all day about how risky this plan of yours is and how easily it could trace back to us. Like, really easily Pete. But what if we had like a fall guy, someone who we set up to be the one who sabotaged the trial of the century. Someone who’s not us, who has no relationship to us. Someone who’s totally random.”

“Let an innocent person take the fall?” Peter asked, raising his eyebrows, “No way, Harley. There’s no way I’m going to let that happen.”

“And what if that person was Skip?” Harley asked seriously. Peter paled and backed away from his brother for a few seconds. “All we’d have to do is find out where he works, get on his computer, make the documents on there. Hell, we could even make it so he’s the one who ends up delivering them to Jameson.”

Peter crossed his arms and frowned.

“Harls, I love you, but this is crazy” he said calmly, “How the hell do you expect that in two days we’re possibly going to be able to accomplish orchestrating a situation where we let Skip take the fall for what we’re about to do?”

“Look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t think we can pull it off” Harley said seriously, putting his arms on Peter’s shoulders and steering him to a position where they were eye to eye. Peter almost flinched by the fire and determination in his brother’s stare. Harley meant this. Harley had thought this through. He was prepared to take the risk but was also certain there was no risk involved because he knew he could pull it off and set Skip up. “The only question is – are you OK with it? Because if you’re not, I’ll pull the plug and we can forget this conversation ever happened.”

“I-Harley, this is mad” Peter stuttered out, “You’re talking about making this ten times more complicated than it already is. And it’s already pretty messed up.”

“You still haven’t said we can’t pull it off” Harley said with a smirk, “Trust me, Peter. Skip doesn’t deserve the freedom he has. He doesn’t deserve to be walking around, a free man, after what he did to you. If we can’t see him get put away for that, we can at least make sure he gets his comeuppance this way. I’m sure I can make this work, Peter.”

“I don’t know Harley” Peter sighed, “I believe you’ll do your best to make it worst, but if it doesn’t then we’re going to end up in ten times more trouble than we already are. Plus, Skip will find out I was partly behind it.”

“Peter, let me do this for you” Harley pleased, “The last twenty-four hours, all I’ve done is beat myself up over what he did to you and I’m sick of it. I’m sick of men like him and Evan and Ross thinking they can just go through life hurting people and worming their way out of it. It ends now. I’ll find out where Skip works, I’ll do whatever I can to make sure this goes off without a hitch. I’ll ask you again – look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t think we can do this.” Peter tried but couldn’t.

“OK” he sighed, “OK, fine. Tomorrow, take MJ and go and scope him out. I’ll pick up Wade from prison with Matt and then we’ll meet back here.”

“Thanks, Pete” Harley whispered as he pulled his brother into a bone crushing hug, “We got this. You and me. We got this.”

*

The last place that Peter had expected to be on New Year’s Eve was waiting outside a federal prison for Wade Wilson with Matt Murdock for company. They sat silently in Matt’s car, waiting. Peter had just informed Matt of Harley’s plans to set Skip Westcott up as their fall guy for the blatant crimes they were about to commit and was surprised that Matt had seemingly no qualms about the arrangement whatsoever. Like Peter, he seemed to only be worried about whether Harley would be able to pull off such a daring set up. 

“Your brother’s very ride or die” Matt said after a while, “I can see why you two get on so good. He’s like a taller, southern version of you.”

“Harley doesn’t have much of his own” Peter replied with a shrug, “He’s kinda one of those people who latches on and then stays for life when he starts caring about someone. I don’t think there’s anything he wouldn’t do for me.”

“Just like how there’s nothing you wouldn’t do for him in return” Matt replied with a smile. Peter blushed a little and ducked his head. 

“Yeah, I guess” he muttered, “I know what we’re doing sounds crazy and is so, so risky but-“

“Hey, we went through all this yesterday” Matt replied sternly, “What you’re doing is crazy and risky but you’re doing it for the right reasons which, in my book, is the perfect kind of thing to be involved with. Plus, after what Ross and Westcott have done to you…well, if you and your brother hadn’t come up with something this crazy, me and Wade would have.”

Peter smiled.

“Think he’ll be happy to see me?” he asked, “He never wanted me to get involved with the Avengers.”

“Wade’s got a unique way of thinking” Matt reminded Peter, “He’s got his weird set of principles but when it boils down to it, he cares about you. He helped you as much as he did because he saw a kid who needed it. He burned down a guy’s apartment and took a year and a half in prison for you. He’ll just care that you’re safe and happy but-“

“He’ll act all pissy” Peter finished for his friend, “Yeah, I know. I just feel bad. It’s because of me he’s even in there and I didn’t even know.”

“Because we didn’t want you to know” Matt replied, “You were safe and happy, away from it all, and Wade didn’t want you dragged back in. I was the one who wanted to. I told him every day that if we got you in and asked you to say what had happened to you….Wade, well he might not have avoided prison, but he might have got a lighter sentence but…and I don’t say this often, I would have been wrong.”

“Still feel bad” Peter muttered, “All that suffering. Just for me.”

“Suffering? Wade?” Matt scoffed, “Yeah, prison wasn’t exactly part of his plan but this is Wade Wilson we’re talking about here. He’s hardly what you’d call typical. Everyone knows who he is, what he’s capable of, no one will have dared touch him in there.”

Peter pursed his lips.

“There is one more thing I never told you guys-“

“We know you’re Spider-Man, kid” Matt smirked, “You’ve done well at keeping it a secret from the public but Wade and I always knew. It just made sense.”

“Oh” Peter said quietly, “Thanks, I guess?”

“You’re too good, Pete” Matt sighed, “It really isn’t that hard to figure out when you really sit down and think about it. Luckily for you, most people are too stupid and self-involved to try.”

“Here he comes” Peter muttered, turning as he saw the familiar figure of Wade Wilson given an awkward salute to a guard and head out of the prison with just a red duffle bag in his hands. Matt smiled, patted Peter on the shoulder and told him to wait in the car for a second. Curious, Peter watched as Matt ran up to Wade and embraced him, whispering something in his ear that made Wade nod seriously. Whilst most of Peter’s enhanced abilities had returned following the summer, his enhanced sense of hearing was not quite fully recovered yet and prevented him from being able to hear the details of Matt and Wade’s whispered conversation as he would have usually been able to.

Matt gestured at him to come out of the car.

Feeling butterflies in his stomach, Peter got out of the car and found himself standing across from Wade Wilson. His scars still seemed as fresh as ever but any worries that prison may have broken down Wade’s chipper and snarky persona dissipated from Peter the second he got a good look at the man. Yep. He was still the same old Wade.

“My, my, my” Wade said with a smile that Peter couldn’t help but return, “If it isn’t Tony Stark, Jnr. Whatever could have propelled minor aristocracy such as yourself to come and meet a peasant commoner from jail like this?”

Peter rolled his eyes and smiled.

“Oh you know me” he replied with a smirk, “Just can’t help but get involved in things I don’t need to, rather like someone I could name.”

Wade smiled and all pretense of not giving a fuck about one another disappeared. The older man opened his arms wide and Peter slammed into them, letting a lot of tension he hadn’t even realized he’d been carrying with him go.

“I’m sorry” he whimpered, “I should have spoken up before, I should have-“

“Short stack, I did what I did because I love you” Wade replied softly, “It’s true. I’m not about hiding shit like that anymore. I love you. You mean the world to me, and anyone who fucks with you has me to deal with. If it’s any help, the only reason that bastard is even still breathing is because I knew you wouldn’t ever want me to kill for you.”

Peter nodded and wiped his eyes.

“And you don’t mind that I live with Tony Stark now?” he asked.

“Only if Mr. Moneybags buys me my own private island” Wade smirked, “Pete, as long as you’re safe and happy, then I don’t mind who you live with. That’s all I ever wanted for you.”

“I am” Peter breathed, “I am safe. And I am happy. But there is something else-“

“You need my help with?” Wade finished for him, “Say no more. I’m in. Whatever it is, I’m in.”

*

“This feels shady” MJ noted as she and Harley sat behind the wheel of his car and staked out Skip Westcott’s new apartment. It was in a nice neighborhood, very idyllic and filled with little kids who had no idea they were living in the midst of a child rapist. 

“I know, but it’ll be worth it” Harley said tensely. He was nervous. Very well aware that he’d dug his own grave, so to speak, Harley felt under immense pressure to get this right. One slip up with Skip and the whole plan could come crashing down and they would all likely end up in prison whilst Skip and Ross walked free. 

“Peter’s deflecting” MJ sighed, “I know I can’t force him to talk about it, but I just feel like we can’t really leave it as it is. It’s changed everything.”

“How has it?” Harley asked, noticing MJ blush.

“Well…it’s dumb” she said

“Not if it’s upsetting you it’s not” Harley replied simply, “C’mon, tell your Uncle Harley, if it concerns you and Peter I promise I’m not going to think it’s dumb.”

“Well, I was ready to…y’know, take the next step” MJ said quietly, “But now, knowing what I know, I just can’t see us ever getting there.”

“I understand why you feel like that” Harley said sadly, “But from the sounds of it, you haven’t even asked Peter for his opinion on the matter yet, don’t jump to conclusions, Michelle. Peter might be just as up for moving things along as you. Don’t assume his truth. If there’s one thing we all need to take away from this it’s that.”

MJ nodded and smiled at Harley.

“Thanks” she said, “You’re the best, Harley. You really are.”

“I’m not-“

“You are” MJ snapped, “The very fact that I can talk to you about this kind of thing and know that the information is one hundred percent safe with you, even though it’s your brother we’re talking about, well…that says a lot for who you are as a person. And you are a wonderful person.”

“Not so bad yourself, Jones” Harley replied with tears in his eyes, “This is so crazy, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, totally bonkers” MJ chuckled before the door to Skip’s building opened and outstepped the man himself. Harley felt every nerve in his body freeze. A very dark corner of his mind was telling him to speed up and take Skip out with his car right here, right now. No mercy. Just end him. But he didn’t, he kept his cool, even if it meant holding an ungodly grip on the steering wheel. MJ seemed to be having the same kind of reaction, gripping at her jacket and looking down at the floor.

Harley was taken aback by how normal Skip was. He just looked like a regular guy; you could even say he was quite handsome. In any world, Skip would have had no problems attracting whomever he wanted towards him, so how he could have ever ended up as a child rapist was beyond Harley. Though he supposed, if Skip was like that, his looks were just a mere footnote. Ugly or not, he’d have always been the same scumbag.

Ignoring the fact he had a prime opportunity to take out the man who had raped his brother, Harley cautiously set off after Skip on his commute to work. It was a simple plan, really. Once they knew where Skip worked, all Harley would have had to do would be to find Skip’s employee username and password and pass them on to Matt Murdock who would do all the rest. They would make sure that the documents, once altered, would be placed on Skip’s work desk waiting for him with instructions to hand them over to J. Jonah Jameson or one of his cronies on the 2nd of January. 

In order to make sure that this could be done as efficiently as possible, Harley and MJ were going to scope the layout of Skip’s workplace and assess where they would all be spending New Year’s Eve. They needed to make sure that, at some point, Skip would be missing from the celebrations and be noted as such so that there would be a timeframe in which he could have potentially falsified the documents that ‘proved’ Ross’s innocence. It was all a back-up plan; Harley had no intention of things getting to the point where anyone would have any doubt Skip was guilty but they had to be sure. 

Skip worked at a Wall Street skyscraper, Harley was almost agog at how much of a generic stoke broker building it was as Skip greeted some similarly dressed colleagues and headed inside. MJ pouted and made a noise signaling her disgust as they stepped out of the car. Harley wasn’t worried about protecting his anonymity. There was no point anymore and being the adopted son of Tony Stark and Pepper Potts, no one would really bat an eye at him being in the financial district.

Getting into Skip’s building was easy enough, Harley charming the woman at the front desk at ease and securing himself and MJ guest passes on the explanation that Tony had sent them on business. No one questioned them the entire way up. Skip’s floor was located near the top of the building but he and his friends had decided to get a coffee in the top floor restaurant before they started work. Harley and MJ followed, taking a seat at the booth behind the group.

“Can you believe we have to go to this shin dig at Stark Industries later tonight?” one of Skip’s friends bemoaned once they’d sat down. Harley felt his blood run cold at the thought of Peter and Skip being in the same room as one another. MJ cringed and grabbed Harley’s hand, squeezing it hard. “What the hell does Mellor think he’s doing?”

“Brown nosing, that’s what” Skip replied venomously. It wasn’t hard for either of the teenagers behind him to conclude as to why he might be particularly nervous about the prospect, “I’d much rather go to some bar uptown.”

“It’ll be worth it” one of the other’s reasoned, “I’ve always wanted to try my luck with Black Widow. And that Scarlet Witch is a hot slice as well.”

MJ gripped down even harder on Harley’s hand to stop him flying up and punching the man in the face for talking about Natasha and Wanda like that. Harley was close to the edge. He wanted to kill them all. 

“Not to mention the amount of Ross slander we’re going to have to hear” Skip sighed, “I tell ya, there’s something more to that whole conspiracy. There’s no way Ross knew what was going on. No way at all. I’d bet money on it.”

MJ gasped. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Skip was publicly defending Ross, thus making their jobs ten times easier. Harley seemed to have recognized the same thing, giving her a curt nod before focusing back in on the conversation going on behind them.

“Those kids of his will be there as well” one of Skip’s friends pointed out, “My kid niece has a crush on both of them. They seem OK.”

“Yeah” Skip said slowly, a hint of melancholy in his voice, “Yeah, they’re OK. I guess.”

*

“PETER!”

“MJ! HARLEY!”

“You won’t believe what-“

“Harley, this is Wade Wilson” Peter said proudly. Harley stopped talking as he shook the hand of the very recent ex-con who gave him a short smile and slightly confused look, “And you guys already met Matt yesterday.”

“Hey” Matt said politely as MJ and Harley smiled at him, “Sorry to ask you to meet in some dank underground parking lot, but it seemed the most covert place.”

“Pleasure to meet you both” Wade interrupted, “Any friend of Petey Pie’s is a friend of mine. Though I hear you’re a little more than just a friend, young lady.”

MJ rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, I’m his girlfriend” she said fiercely as she linked arms with Peter, “And I’m very protective of him, so watch your step.”

“MJ, we can trust Wade” Peter sighed.

“Oh, I don’t think he’d betray us” MJ replied, “But I do know that he’s more than willing to do something foolish and very, very public in order to hurt you and we don’t need that shit if we’re going to pull this shit off.”

“I agree!” Wade said brightly, “And trust me, I have no plans to go back to prison any time soon. Until this is all done with, I’ll be as quiet as a mouse. Publicly. In private, you may have to indulge me.”

“Anyway” Matt said, clearly keen to move the conversation along quickly, “I trust everything went well on scoping out our fall guy this morning?”

“Yeah, went really well” Harley replied, “Skip’s password and username are written down in my notebook. Just set fire to the page once you’ve hacked in. MJ’s written the note to attach to the document with the instructions for meeting Jameson, she’s got a wicked handwriting impression.”

“I’ve used Kylie Jenner’s” MJ said with a shrug, “All I have to do is look at someone’s handwriting for a second and then I can imitate it. I guess I do have a super power after all. That and boh.”

Peter grinned with pride.

“Very useful indeed” Wade beamed as he took the note from MJ’s hand, “This is incredible. But why did you chose hers?”

“Figured I might as well use this opportunity to take her down as well” MJ shrugged, “So, you guys are good breaking into the offices and all that without being seen?”

“Yeah, they’ll be fine” Peter replied on behalf of Wade and Matt, “So…what’s left for us to do?”

“Well, that’s the tricky side” Harley sighed, “Peter, there’s no easy way to say this but Skip and all his Gordon Gecko clone buddies are going to be at the Stark Industries New Year party tonight. Their boss is making them go.”

Peter’s face paled and he slipped his hand away from MJ’s for a second. All four of the people around him sighed and looked at the ground. 

“Oh” was all Peter could say, “Right, I see.”

“I could ask Pepper and Tony to blacklist them” Harley offered, “But then they might ask questions and I wouldn’t really have a sufficient answer.”

“This is sick!” Wade exclaimed, “Peter will just have to come with us.”

“Wade, he can’t-“ Matt began.

“I did not go to prison for a year to come out and have Peter immediately have to be in the same room as the man who raped him for an entire night” Wade snapped, “It’s perverse, it’s wrong. It’s your home, Peter, he has no right to be there.”

“Wade has a point” MJ said solemnly, “An overly loud and passionate point, but a valid one all the same. Skip and you in the same room is not an option as far as I’m concerned. As well as that, I don’t think I’ll be able to hold myself back if I’m in the same room as him.”

“Me either, to be fair” Harley chimed in, “It took everything I had not to hit him with car when we saw him earlier.”

“Good, so that’s agreed then” Wade said with a nod, “If you can’t realistically get the rapist not to come to the tower, we’ll just take Peter with us. Right, Matt?”

“Yeah, I suppose” Matt sighed, “He’ll have to stay in the car though.”

“Hang on a minute” Harley snapped, gesturing to Peter who hadn’t spoken a word, “I think there’s one person whose perspective we’re missing from all of this. Peter, what do you want to do?”

Peter sighed. He honestly didn’t know what to do. The thought of being in the same room as Skip after what he’d done was making him feel ill just thinking about it, he had no idea how he was going to react when it actually happened. Going with Matt and Wade wasn’t an option. Before, he would have, but Peter was famous now. If he was spotted with them, it could lead to all sorts of trouble. 

“It’s fine” he managed to wheeze out after a few more seconds of silence, “It’s fine. It’s one night and I’ll just have to deal with it.”

“Peter, are you sure?” MJ asked softly, squeezing his hand, “Are you sure you can handle it?”

Peter nodded.

“Yeah, I can” he breathed out, finding it easier and easier to come to terms with every second, “It might be quite good actually, to be able to look him in the eye. Show him he didn’t destroy me. Plus, I know I’ll be safe if I’m with you and Harley and all the others. Skip can’t touch me now and if he tried-“

“I’d kill him” Harley said in a tone so matter-of-fact that Peter had no choice but to meet his brother’s eyes and reluctantly nod. 

“Besides, he won’t be the party long, if we plan this out right” Peter carried on, “He’s going to need to leave to get back to his office, anyway. Doubt he’ll come back after that. If Matt and Wade manage to plant the files as quickly as possible, the less time he’ll have to spend in the tower.”

“That’s right” Matt said with a nod, “Now, all one of you guys need to do is make a point of noticing Skip’s gone once he’s gone. All you need is one person to remember that they couldn’t find Skip for a while on New Year’s Eve and boom – you give the courts a timeframe in which he disappeared to print out the false documents.”

“Then, after that, we just need to make sure the documents are handed over to Jameson” Wade carried on, having been informed fully of the plans by Matt and Peter on the drive over, “After that, we just sit back and watch the world burn.”

“I only hope it’s that easy” Harley muttered.

“It will be” Peter replied stoically, “As long as everyone plays their parts.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading everyone and a very happy 2020 to you all. expect a lot more from this story. i do have a slight request for comments though as i've only had the one so far and would obviously love to read some more feedback from you guys so please share any thoughts you have below.
> 
> until next time,  
> thanks a lot,  
> jamie  
> xxxx


	4. running from ghosts.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Of course I’m a little mad” MJ smirked, “She’s beautiful. A straight ten out of ten. Which I am most decidedly not.”
> 
> “Bullshit” all three boys replied at once.
> 
> “You’re the most beautiful ever.” Peter replied with a yawn, “When I saw you in your dress it felt like my whole entire soul left my body.”
> 
> MJ blushed and looked down at the floor. 
> 
> “Damn, Pete, you’re so smooth” Harley chuckled, “No wonder all the girls are crazy for you. You always know the most romantic thing to say. We’re all novices compared to you.”
> 
> “Yeah, dude, like give the rest of us a chance” Ned said with a smile.
> 
> “I know you guys are only saying that to make me feel better” Peter replied. 
> 
> “Nothing we said isn’t true though” Harley shrugged

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SOOOO.....I was gonna post this on January 2nd and then just....didn't. So, sorry about that.
> 
> I've also changed the title of the story as The Trials of Thaddeus Ross was a bit clunky and one-note. I think the new title sums up what's going on in the story a lot better. 
> 
> Bit of a heavy one here, a lot of explicit reference to Peter's assault from Skip so watch out for that if it's going to upset you in any way.

**running from ghosts.**

Peter sighed as he looked at himself in the mirror. Harley and MJ had chosen his outfit for him, a green button-down shirt and black skinny jeans. As willing as he was to go along with being in the same room as Skip for the sake of their plan, the reality of the situation seemed more and more daunting with every second as it crept closer and closer. He was a ball of anxiety by the time that the guests began to pour into the tower ballroom a few floors below Peter’s own bedroom. His hearing wasn’t back to its fully enhanced state yet but he was able to pick up on some of the casual conversations already taking place below, he sighed and put in the miniscule hearing aid that Harley had designed for his Christmas present which filtered his hearing to a normal standard before taking a deep breath and heading out.

Pepper and Tony had picked up on his anxiety effortlessly earlier that afternoon and Peter felt so off he’d retreated to his bedroom for a few hours after lunch. Harley and MJ had apparently covered for him, stating he was just nervous about so many people being in the tower that evening, Peter doubted that either of them had believed that. It had been nearly a year since Peter had had any kind of panic attack as a result of being overwhelmed by people. At the very best, Pepper and Tony were going to think he had regressed for some reason which would only mean Peter would be in for more underserved therapy. At worst, they would pry and discover the truth.

As he made his way downstairs, Peter pondered to himself whether it would ever be the right time to tell his adoptive parents about what Skip had done to him. He knew, rationally, that nothing would change and that they would support him but the part of Peter which still tried to convince him that all of this was false and Tony and Pepper were just waiting for an opportunity to decide it was too much and he wasn’t worth the bother anymore would come as a result of telling them the whole truth. No matter what they’d say, Peter knew they’d never be able to look at him quite the same after. 

“Hey, you don’t have to even come in, you know” MJ said softly as she took his hand when Peter arrived outside the ballroom where she was waiting for him. Peter tried to focus on how insanely gorgeous she looked in her red dress and with her straightened hair but could only think of the fact that the man who had raped him was standing in his home somewhere as they spoke, “Me and Harley have got this. You can just go back upstairs. It’s only the two of us who know, two people who love you more than anything. No judgements. No judgements at all.”

“I have to do this” he replied quietly, “People need to see me, I-“

“Peter, don’t torture yourself” MJ sighed, “You’ve already done more than enough setting all this up, you don’t have to do any more.”

“It’ll be fine” Peter insisted, taking a deep breath and painting a false smile on his face before taking MJ’s hand and walking into the New Year’s party. In the farthest corner of the room, Pepper was mingling with guests in her usual effortless manner whilst the rest of the Avengers were scattered about throughout the room, bar Clint who had somehow ended up manning the bar. The only one absent was Wanda who had willingly offered to babysit Morgan for the night whilst the party was going on. 

Harley was entertaining the rest of his and Peter’s friends on some sofa’s towards the back. Peter allowed himself to relax a little bit more as MJ lead him by the hand over to them. Nate, who had been sitting comfortably in between Harley and Sadie Clarke, gasped and put his food down before bouncing over and throwing himself into Peter’s arms.

“You’re here!” he cooed, “Knew you was gonna come, Peter-Spider. Knew it! Knew it!”

“That’s because you’re a little genius” Peter replied fondly, allowing himself to bask in Nate’s affection and planted a kiss in the boys hair, “And I love your little bow tie, fella.”

“Daddy-Rhodey said I should look smart!” Nate beamed, “Then Uncle Sam said if I look cute enough with him he might finally be able to get a new lady friend but Daddy-Rhodey already has lady friends so I don’t really know what he means.”

“Sam’s just being Sam, pal.” Harley replied with a smirk, “You good Pete?”

“Never better” Peter lied before sitting down next to Ned. He didn’t fail to notice Harley and MJ shooting one another a concerned glare before MJ followed suit and sat down next to him, patting his knee with her hand in an affectionate manner as she did so. It was only as he looked around the group that Peter noticed for the first time that they were joined by someone new, someone he’d never met before. A beautiful girl about their age with piercing green eyes, shiny blonde hair and a breathtaking smile was sitting across from him in between Sadie and Flash, who looked as if he’d died and gone to heaven just by being in her presence. 

“Err, hi” Peter said awkwardly as the girl blushed slightly and tucked some of her hair behind her ears.

“This is Gwen.” Sadie announced, “She’s my cousin and she just moved to New York so I thought I’d bring her along tonight. Well, she was kind of coming anyway, it’s a long story-“

“I just moved here” Gwen interjected, “Came to live with my Dad, who you may know better as the new chief of police.”

“Oh” Peter said, his face paling a little, “Your George Stacy’s daughter?”

“The one and only” Gwen replied with a smile, “And you must be Peter-wait, ignore me, of course you’re Peter. Everyone knows who you are.”

“Err, yeah, that’s me” Peter chuckled, “Nice to meet you.”

“Gwen’s starting at Midtown in the New Year!” Sadie beamed, “Transferring in senior year is never easy but hey, she’s already got a place confirmed at MIT so it’s just gonna be party central for the next few months, right babe?”

“I wouldn’t go that far, Sadie” Gwen shot back, “I still want to create a good impression.”

“Well, you’ve already made quite the impression on Eugene” MJ pointed out with a grin, “I don’t think he’s ever been this quiet for this long in his life before. It’s nice. Refreshing.”

Flash didn’t seem to give off any impression he’d heard MJ’s dig.

“So, it must be amazing living with the Avengers” Gwen carried on, addressing Peter as if he was the only person in the world, “I’ve already met Black Widow and Iron Man tonight which was so cool, d’you know if Spider-Man’s going to be putting in an appearance?”

Peter’s face paled even more, somehow, as his eyes darted quickly around his friends all of whom shifted a little uncomfortably in their seats. MJ was the sole exception, merely looking at Gwen with inquisitive eyes. 

“Err, I think he took the New Year’s patrol shift, right” Betty answered after the silence had become so long it was a little awkward.

“Yeah” Harley stuttered, “Yeah, you’re right Betty. Spidey’s selfless like that, and not a massive fan of parties.”

“Oh, so you do know him then?” Gwen asked enthusiastically, turning her attentions towards Harley who blushed a little as Gwen’s vivacious eyes now rested solely on him. Nate giggled in his lap. 

“Yeah, course I do” Harley replied, immediately cool once again, “Spidey and I go way back. We’re like best buds. Blood brothers. I love him so much.”

Peter couldn’t help but smile a little bit.

“Aww, that’s sweet” Gwen said sweetly, “I’d love to meet him. He’s like-definitely the best super hero, even if my Dad’s out to get him for whatever reason.”

“He’s the best!” Nate agreed enthusiastically, causing Gwen to chuckle, “He gives the third best hugs in the tower!”

Gwen excused herself to go and get another drink, Sadie following, and Harley burst into laugher the second he was sure she was out of earshot. 

“She has a crush on you!” Harley wheezed, “Oh my god, that is too funny.”

“She doesn’t have a crush on me” Peter snapped, “She has a crush on Spider-Man. Massive difference.”

“Nah, she has a crush on you too” MJ interjected, “She couldn’t keep her eyes off of you from the second you sat down.”

“Oh, right” Peter muttered, “Err…sorry?”

“Why would you be sorry?” MJ asked, “Like a billion people around the world have crushes on you, I’m not going to be put out just because one of them happened to be sitting across from us.”

Peter wasn’t convinced that MJ totally believed her own words but despite finding Gwen beautiful and a little disarming, she was nothing on MJ as far as he was concerned. She rested her head on his shoulder as Sadie began to inform everyone that Liz would be attending and bringing her new boyfriend Eddie Brock with her. 

“He’s like….weirdly intense” Sadie said, “Kinda cute but she’s way out of his league. Liz seems to really like him though, but I think it might be the glamour of dating a college boy more than anything. You could all easily take him in a fight though he’s like really skinny.”

“Good to know” Harley said slowly, “I mean, what’s he doing coming to New York for college and then dating a high school girl? Bit creepy.”

“Liz looks and seems a lot older than she is, to be fair” Betty reasoned, “Besides, this time a year ago they were both high school students. No one bats an eye at a senior dating a junior.”

Harley shrugged as Gwen came back over and took her place back. Peter smiled awkwardly at her before squeezing MJ’s hand. 

Suddenly, a sense of dread overwhelmed him. Peter darted his eyes back and forth across the room, seeking for the disturbance that had rattled him so bad. It only took him a few seconds until his eyes found Skip Westcott entering the ballroom, looking more than a little bit shifty.

Peter didn’t alert anyone around him to Skip’s presence. He had to do this on his own. 

*

It didn’t last long. MJ and Harley, who had seen Skip in person merely hours earlier, soon spotted him and found an excuse to rush off together to whisper in a corner. Peter allowed it. He knew that he needed to confront Skip alone but he figured he could let his brother and his girlfriend deal with setting him up for their plan. Harley was the one who rushed off towards the group of bankers, who were gathered around Tony, and introduced himself to them all as MJ sat back down and re-took her ownership of Peter’s hands. No one around them but Gwen seemed to clock that anything out of the ordinary was happening, and Peter was unable to take his eyes off of Harley and Tony as they interacted with the man who had raped him. 

“It’s OK” MJ whispered, “You’ll be fine. It’s OK.”

Peter smiled as he felt a light presence sit itself down on his lap. He looked down and saw that in the absence of Harley, Nate had decided that Peter was who he wanted to sit with. The boy sheepishly cuddled into Peter’s side, almost in a way that suggested he was seeking to comfort Peter for whatever reason rather than seeking comfort from Peter himself. Nate’s incredibly beyond his years ability to perceive others emotions completely correctly was revealing itself more and more every day and reminded Peter that he was meaning to have a conversation with Rhodey, Bruce and Tony about it. 

“No upset, no upset” Nate was saying to himself over and over again as he sat on Peter’s lap, so quiet only Peter could hear him, “No scared, don’t be scared Peter-Spider, I protect. I protect.”

It was amazing. Nate knew nothing about their plans, even less about Skip, yet he was still able to perceive that Peter was terrified and in need of assurance that someone would protect him. Not that Peter would ever expect or want Nate to protect him, but it was comforting all the same. 

“Your little brother is really cute” Gwen said sweetly, snapping Peter back to reality a few seconds later, noticing most of the rest of the group had dispersed to other places. Only he, Nate, MJ and Gwen remained on the couches. 

“Oh, he’s not-“ Peter began but stopped himself, not just because Nate decidedly was his little brother in all the ways that counted, but because Nate wasn’t technically even alive as far as the government was concerned. They had been so keen to cover up as much of the scandal as they could that Nate being missing from the group of registered children who had been returned home by SHIELD had scared them so much that they merely wiped any record of him ever existing. They assumed he was dead, and no one was correcting them because the entire team had fallen so deeply in love with Nate that they didn’t want to risk him being sent away. It wasn’t something Peter felt happy about but Nate was happy and didn’t have anyone else anyway, plus Tony had enough facilities so that Nate’s education and medical needs could be taken care of totally privately. With the kids trauma still needing to be treated, his powers not properly assessed, beating his malnourishment, speech therapy being concluded as being an absolute must and his increasing over empathizing with everyone around him meant no one was pushing to have him start socializing with peers anytime soon. That could wait. 

“Yeah, he’s the best” Peter said fondly, kissing Nate on his forehead as the little boy twisted Peter’s shirt between his little fingers as he carried on repeating his comforting mantra over and over, “I’ll probably take him up to bed soon, I can feel him getting tired.”

“No tired!” Nate protested, “Stay up! Stay up!”

“OK, OK, chill” Peter smirked as MJ and Gwen both giggled, “You can stay up. Just don’t blame me when you’re all cranky tomorrow.”

“Be fine” Nate muttered, before returning to his default position on Peter. Gwen smiled as MJ made eye-contact with Harley who gave her a nod. MJ silently kissed Peter on the cheek and ruffled Nate’s hair before making her way over to where Harley was standing. Peter shuddered as he watched MJ be introduced to Skip and had to swallow his tongue, only comforted by the fact he could tell that despite their outwardly polite demeanors, both Harley and MJ were clenching their fists in Skip’s presence. Gwen noticed Peter’s scowl. 

“D’you know that guy?” she asked softly, gesturing her head towards Skip.

“No. No.” Peter lied.

“You’re a bad liar” Gwen concluded, folding her arms and leaning back in her chair, “Cute, very smart, but an insanely bad liar. Spider-Man.”

“Sp-Spider-Man?” Peter stuttered back, “You-you….”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to say anything” Gwen replied, rolling her eyes, “I’ve had my theories about you for a while and….well, I knew I was right the second I saw you. I’ve spent a lot of time looking at pictures of him and you over the last few months.”

Peter didn’t have the energy to even try and lie in the moment. If Gwen had figured out and promised not to say anything, then he wasn’t going to complain. 

“Please don’t say anything” he asked, “Especially not to your Dad-“

“Oh, please, I’m not going to tell him anything” Gwen assured him, “Dad’s very by the books, he doesn’t really understand how you can be doing the right thing if you’re not going through the official channels. I’m doing my own bit in my house for positive Spidey propaganda, don’t you worry about that.”

“Thanks” Peter replied softly, “If you don’t mind me asking, how come-“

“I moved here?” Gwen finished for him, “Well, my folks divorced when I was six and me and my Mom moved out to L.A. She passed away during the summer, cancer, and well…here I am.”

“I’m sorry” Peter breathed, “That sucks.”

“Yeah, it’s been tough” Gwen shrugged, “Me and Dad don’t really know each other that well, me growing up on the other side of the country and everything, but it’s going OK. But I don’t want to dwell on it. I want to embrace New York if I’m living here. See the best in it.”

“New York’s awesome” Peter said with a smile, “You’ll love it. I promise.”

“Thanks” Gwen replied as the rest of the group came back over with plates and plates of food. Nate practically leaped from Peter’s lap as Sadie returned and handed him a plate. Harley and MJ were still conversing with Skip’s posse and Liz had just walked in, Eddie Brock on her arm.

Peter couldn’t help but smirk slightly at just how accurate Sadie’s description of Eddie had been. The guy looked like the wind could blow him over, he and Liz seemed every bit the mismatched couple that Sadie had been suggesting. Peter smoothed the crease on his jeans awkwardly as Liz flounced over, dragging Eddie behind her and greeted the group.

“Guys, this is Eddie!” she announced happily as Eddie gave everyone an awkward wave, “I’m so pleased you can all finally meet one another. This is Sadie, Betty, Ned, Eugene and last but certainly not least, Peter.”

Eddie shook hands with everyone but seemed particularly vigorous with Peter, who was distracted when shaking Eddie’s hand due to MJ ending up standing uncomfortably close to Skip at the same time. 

“Nice to meet you all” Eddie said as he sat down, Sadie quickly introducing both him and Liz to Gwen, who keenly shook their hands, “Can’t believe I’m in Stark Tower on New Year’s Eve. This is great. Mr. Jameson told me it’d be like this.”

“Eddie recently got an internship at the Daily Bugle” Liz said proudly, “Jonah Jameson was very impressed with his sleuth skills, wasn’t he babe?”

Peter frowned. Liz’s boyfriend working for Jameson wasn’t exactly welcome news, it was a bit too close for comfort, though thankfully Liz herself wasn’t yet aware of their plans.

“Oh, cool” Betty feigned enthusiasm, “I’m really enthusiastic about journalism myself, though I don’t know if I’d personally work for the Bugle. They can be a bit…I dunno, conspiracy theory dependent?”

“I mean, that’s definitely a valid criticism” Eddie replied with a smile, “But you have to start somewhere and whatever else you could say about it, the Bugle has a massive readership that’s not just limited to New York City. Their expose on Spider-Man was like….the most read online article in the last year. Mostly on the money too, as far as I’m concerned”

“Read the room, dude” Peter heard Ned mutter under his breath and smirked, briefly catching his best friends eye. Gwen frowned.

“I think Spidey’s great!” she said, “He goes out of his way to help the little guy, how can you argue that that’s a bad thing?”

“He’s a menace!” Eddie argued, “Just gets in the way”

“Babe, we promised not to talk about this here” Liz moaned, shooting Peter an apologetic look that he did not have the care or patience to acknowledge.

“Right, sorry” Eddie said apologetically, “So, why don’t you all tell me a bit about yourselves-“

“Excuse me” Peter muttered quickly before Betty could begin replying to Eddie. Gwen shot him a concerned look and Liz called out his name but Peter just carried on walking, feeling as if the walls were closing in around him. He could no longer see Harley or MJ in the room, they were no longer near Skip who had migrated to the bar by himself, and everything was simply too loud for him now. His feet seemed to unconsciously move him closer to Skip who briefly look up from his phone and they locked eye-contact, Peter only realizing he was standing directly in front of the man at that very second. 

It was an intense moment, for sure. Peter was stoic. As panicked as he felt, he refused to back down or show any kind of fear in front of the man, and kept his gaze locked on him. It lasted only a few seconds before Peter’s feet turned him on his heel and marched him out of the ballroom towards the nearest bathroom he could find.

Too much. It was all too much.

Eddie. Eddie at the Bugle. Skip. MJ and Harley weren’t around. Where were they? Why weren’t they with him? Where were Pepper and Tony? Why was everything so god damn loud? Had his hearing always been this intense before and he’d just forgotten? What happened if Matt and Wade got caught? Too much. Too much. Too fucking much.

*

Peter splashed water in his face and looked at himself in the mirror. He was a wreck. He looked like he’d been in a car crash. Breathing heavily, he felt his whole-body shudder as he carried on looking at his own reflection, the old feelings of self-loathing that he’d spent months fighting against come roaring back in spectacular fashion. He’d been running from the ghosts of his past for so long, even kidding himself he’d fully outrun them, but now they’d finally caught up with him. What a way to bring in the New Year. 

Peter closed his eyes as the bathroom door opened once again and locked behind him. He didn’t have to open his eyes to know who had just walked in the room.

“You look well” Skip’s voice still sounded as deep, manly and calm as ever, “I’m glad things managed to work out for you in the end, really landed on your feet with Tony Stark. Even if he is a war criminal.”

Anger flushed through Peter’s system. Whatever Skip did to or thought of him was one thing, but he wasn’t about to stand back and allow a rapist to talk shit about Tony. The man who had saved him. The man who had given him a family. The man who was the reason Peter was still alive and hadn’t ended up being killed on the streets, or maybe even taking his own life. Wiping his eyes, Peter took a deep breath and found some of his old steely determination as he turned around to face Skip again. He couldn’t help but smirk slightly as Skip flinched and backed away a little, shaken by the anger in Peter’s eyes.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about” Peter snarled, “Tony Stark has put his life on the line to save this world more times than anyone one person should ever have to. He is the reason we’re all still here and didn’t get blown to kingdom fucking come by a nuke seven years ago. He may not be perfect but I’m not about to stand here and let you slander him when you’re the worst kind of scum on the planet.”

Skip regained some of his composure, raised his eyebrows, folded his arms and smirked. 

“Still as mouthy as ever, aren’t you” he said coolly, “A leopard never changes it spots. You may live in the land of luxury now, Petey, but you’re still that scrappy little urchin from the streets as far as I’m concerned.”

“You say that like it’s bad thing” Peter snapped, willing his feet to take a step forward, “Like it’s something I have to hide, that I have to be ashamed of. Well, I’m not. There’s only one person in here with something to be ashamed of and it’s not me.”

“Oh yeah” Skip said casually, “I wondered when we’d get to that. Listen, Parker, as well as things are going for you, they’re also going pretty fucking well for me. I got a promotion, a nice new car, a swanky apartment and a fiancé. I don’t need what we did-“

“What _we_ did?” Peter spat back in venomous disbelief, “ _We_ did nothing, Skip. _You_ took advantage of _me_. You saw a vulnerable kid and thought you could take what you wanted. You raped me.”

Skip laughed out loud at Peter’s words and the teenager felt his shoulders slump a little. Skip was even more dangerous than he thought. He genuinely didn’t think he’d done anything wrong, or at the very least he’d convinced himself that the sex had been consensual. 

“You held me down and raped me” Peter carried on, “I thought I had nothing left to lose and somehow, you took more. And now you have the nerve to stand there and tell me that what we did could ruin your life? No. What you did to me will be the thing to ruin your life. Cos even if I had consented, Skip, I was still fifteen years old when it happened. You still had sex with a minor.”

Skip grabbed Peter by the scruff of his shirt and pinned him against a wall.

“You breathe one fucking word” he snarled, “It’s been nearly two years, Petey. Nearly two years and you haven’t said one word to anyone about what we did, and I’d know if you did, wouldn’t I? Seen as though you’re saying I forced you. Figure someone would have something to say if you had. But nothing. Seems to me it’s just as convenient for you to forget about what happened as it is for me.”

Peter, oddly, didn’t feel panicked. He knew Skip wasn’t going to do anything to him now. It was a well-known fact that every room in the tower was monitored. 

“You raped me” Peter said calmly, struggling against Skip’s grasp, “You can run from the truth or convince yourself it never happened, but deep down, you know. You know what you did to me.”

Skip smirked. His resolve disappearing. “And you can’t prove anything” he snarled, “Even with the might of Tony Stark behind you, you can’t prove a thing.”

“You’re right, I can’t” Peter admitted, “Not right now anyway. Who knows what kind of lengths Tony would be willing to go to if he found out though. He’d find a way; we both know he would.”

Skip released Peter who slumped to the floor and walked away. The older man kicked a cubicle door a few times before looking at his own reflection in the mirror. 

“Stark doesn’t know then” he said calmly after a minute.

“Not yet” Peter replied, “I haven’t told anyone. Not a soul.” 

A lie. An easy one. 

“Good” Skip said as he smoothed out his sleeves and hitched his jacket back up over his shoulders, “I think you should keep it that way. The happiness of a lot of people rests in your hands, Petey. My girls pregnant, y’know, I’m about to be a father.”

Fireworks went off in Peter’s head as the words fell on him like a ton of bricks. Skip, a dad. Skip, alone with a vulnerable child, more vulnerable than Peter, not able to say no or communicate anything. No. No, this changed everything. There was no way Skip could be allowed to be a father. That kid needed to be away from him. So did the kid’s mother. It was wrong, it was all so wrong.

“You don’t deserve to be” Peter said bluntly 

“And you’re gonna ruin it all for me, I guess” Skip breathed back. 

“That’d be telling” Peter replied coyly, “Like you said, it’s not like I can prove anything, but I can promise you one thing. I’ll make sure you never rest. Even if I can’t get you nailed for what you’ve done, I’ll make sure you never live one moment of your life in peace. Maybe I’ll never tell. Maybe I will. But I’m going to make sure you never hurt anyone else, especially that kid.”

“You think I’d harm my own child?” Skip asked.

“Why not?” Peter snapped, “You harmed me. I was a kid. Seems to be something you’re capable of, why wouldn’t I think that?”

“Because that kid will mean something to me” Skip snarled, getting close to Peter once again, “It will matter to me in all the ways you’ve never mattered to anyone. What I did to you, it was never about wanting to hurt kids because I’m some sick pedophile. It was about you. You being worthless. You being nothing and me needing something to dump my frustrations in. Maybe living with Stark has given you a bit of an ego boost, Petey, because you seem to be under the impression that you matter. You don’t and you never did. It was never about you; it was about me needing a hole. That’s all you were to me. A hole. If it hadn’t have been you, it would have been someone else”

Peter felt sick and shocked by the fact he was surprised by Skip’s comments. He’d always known that he meant nothing to Skip but to hear it said out loud, up close, with such venom was disarming. 

“And that’s what worries me” he breathed back, “Because you’re a monster. A rapist. You get frustrated and you take it out on the nearest vulnerable person to you. Me. Some poor drunk girl in an alleyway. Your own kid. We’re all just the same to you, aren’t we?”

“You’re weak” Skip snarled, and Peter could tell he was the one who scared now. 

“I’m not weak” Peter replied bluntly, “I’m many things, but believe me, I’m not weak. Maybe I could’ve left this alone forever. Like you said, it’s been almost two years and I never said anything. Maybe it could have stayed that way but not now. Not now I know leaving you free is leaving some poor kid vulnerable to the monster that you are. You deserve to rot in hell for what you did to me.”

“And that’s what you’re going to do, is it?” Skip snapped, “Kill me?”

“You’re not even worth that” Peter said coldly, “Midnight’s coming, Skip. Maybe you should go and enjoy what’s left of your freedom, because you don’t have that much of it left.”

“You really think you’re a clever little son of a bitch, don’t cha?” Skip replied angrily, “Like I said before, there’s no outrunning what you were before you came here, Petey.”

Just as Peter was about to reply, Skip’s cell phone rang and he pulled it of his pocket. Peter hid a smirk, knowing the mysterious voice he could only just make out on the other end was Matt’s. Their job was done and judging by the smile that formed on his face as he listened, it seemed like Skip was going to be unintentionally playing his part to perfection. He hung up the phone and shot Peter a glare. 

“I’ve got to go” he said simply, “But before I do, I wanna say one thing. You’re all talk. You’ve taken lessons straight from the Tony Stark handbook. Telling anyone what happened between us involves you telling your new family that before you came here you were just some little street whore, willing to sell yourself for a warm drink and a bed for the night. You’re a public figure, your parents are celebrities, imagine what would happen if the world found out that little nugget of information. You’re not going to say anything.”

“Aren’t I?” Peter replied, “You’re trying to intimidate me Skip and it’s just not going to work because we both know you’re just trying to convince yourself of something that never happened. I never once sold myself out for food or drink, I never once offered myself to anyone for a bed, you’re just running scared and trying to create a narrative where you’re not a piece of shit rapist. Well, guess what buddy, you are a piece of shit rapist and I’m going to make sure everyone knows. Now, unless you want me to scream the place down and have several Avengers after your blood this instant, I suggest you get the fuck out of my house immediately.”

Skip looked like he wanted to reply and Peter could guess it was probably going to be something about how he’d just received some ‘insider info’ about the Thaddeus Ross trial but instead, just hit the teenager around the face. His engagement ring sliced into Peter’s cheek as he fell to the floor and looked up to see Skip standing over him. 

“Whore” the man said simply, before walking out. The second he was gone, all of Peter’s steely resolve dissipated and the boy was left sobbing and rocking himself back and forth in the corner of the bathroom.

*

Peter had no idea how long he’d been laying there, fetal position, sobbing. It could have been hours. Or days. Or weeks. Like so many times before, time just seemed to stop and Peter was stuck spiraling further and further down.

“PETER! Oh thank god, there you are” Ned’s voice rang out and Peter became vaguely aware of his friends sudden presence on the floor beside him. Silently, Peter reached out a hand and took a firm grasp of Ned’s trousers in it. Ned sighed.

“Ned” Peter said quietly, “Ned’s here.”

“Yeah, I’m here” Ned sighed, “Oh Peter, everyone’s been worried sick. We haven’t told Mr. or Mrs. Stark we couldn’t find you yet but-holy shit, your face, what the hell happened?”

“Bad” Peter replied, “Bad man did it to me. He hurt me. He hurt me again, Ned.”

“Who did?” Ned asked, “Who hurt you?”

Peter shook his head. He didn’t want to answer and he could feel himself regressing. It was just like what had happened the night Skip had attacked him before, only then Peter did not have the comfort of his best friend by his side and had to whether himself through the near catatonic episode that followed. He felt safer in the knowledge that he had more people around him this time, he didn’t have to will himself out of it. 

“OK, you don’t wanna tell me” Ned said reasonably, pulling his phone out of his pocket, “That’s fine, I’ll just call Mr. Stark and-“

“No!” Peter shouted, knocking the phone out of Ned’s hands and across the room, “No! No Tony. No Pepper. Harley. Harley or MJ. I need Harley and MJ.”

“OK, OK, I can do that” Ned replied, quickly running across the room to retrieve the phone and then immediately sitting back down beside Peter. The smaller boy clutched at Ned’s trouser legs once again and whimpered slightly as his best friend began to make comforting circle motions on his back with his free hand. They’d been here before, the two of them, Ned knew the drill. 

He called Harley and was very brief about conveying a message about Peter needing him in the bathroom on the fourth floor. There was a few seconds of silence between the best friends before Harley and MJ came barreling into the room and threw themselves on to the floor where Peter lay. Ned graciously moved away so MJ could lift Peter’s head on to her knees and sooth Peter by running her fingers through his hair whilst Harley crouched next to him and took his hand, squeezing it a bunch of times in a manner they’d concocted to let the other know they were present.

“Harley” Peter cooed after a few seconds, “Harley’s here now.”

“Yeah, I’m here bro” Harley replied and he sounded choked, “I’m sorry Pete. I’m so fucking sorry, this is my fault, this is all my fault. We should have kept a closer eye on him, we should have realized that he wouldn’t have left so early. Has he hurt you? My god, I’ll never forgive myself if-“

“Only the face” Peter replied quickly, “Hit me. Didn’t-didn’t do other stuff. Didn’t do what he did before.”

“OK, OK” Harley said with a nod, “OK, good. Well, not good, but good he didn’t-do that again.”

“Do what?” Ned asked. Peter sighed. 

“What do you think, Ned?” MJ asked but there was no sign of impatience or irritation in her questioning, just a sad sense of acceptance and resolve. Ned couldn’t escape the elephant in the room now. It was as clear as day and he found himself slowly falling to his knees, eyes locking on Peter.

“No” he said quietly, “No. Peter. Oh my god, no-“

“I’m sorry” Peter said to him in nothing more than a whisper. 

“Please…please, I’m begging you, don’t” MJ sobbed.

“She’s right, Peter” Ned, who was openly crying, replied, “My god, I’m so sorry that I never noticed before. I must be the worst best friend in the world.”

“You’re the best” Peter croaked, “You’re the best, I just-I’m so scared, guys. All the time.”

“We know buddy, we know” Harley replied, “But you’re so strong and brave and good and kind. Better than any of us. Better than any of us even deserve. I love you, Pete. So much.”

“Same” Ned breathed back.

“Same” MJ agreed, “I’m not even mad that that Gwen girl has a crush on you anymore.”

“Hey, you said you weren’t mad before” Peter said with a small smile finally creeping across his face. Harley saw this as a good sigh and nodded at MJ to sit up so Peter could finally stop laying on a bathroom floor. She did so and Peter effortlessly followed her as she propped herself up against the wall, he leaned his head on her shoulder and let out a deep breath. Ned sat down next to MJ and Harley next to Peter, the four of them united.

“Of course I’m a little mad” MJ smirked, “She’s beautiful. A straight ten out of ten. Which I am most decidedly not.”

“Bullshit” all three boys replied at once.

“You’re the most beautiful ever.” Peter replied with a yawn, “When I saw you in your dress it felt like my whole entire soul left my body.”

MJ blushed and looked down at the floor. 

“Damn, Pete, you’re so smooth” Harley chuckled, “No wonder all the girls are crazy for you. You always know the most romantic thing to say. We’re all novices compared to you.”

“Yeah, dude, like give the rest of us a chance” Ned said with a smile.

“I know you guys are only saying that to make me feel better” Peter replied. 

“Nothing we said isn’t true though” Harley shrugged, just as Nate toddled into the bathroom and had his eyes light up the second they rested on Harley and Peter. He giggled and ran into Harley’s open arms before frowning when he saw Peter, who did still look very distressed.

“Sad again” he said, pointing a small finger at Peter in an almost accusatory way.

“Yeah, a little” Peter admitted as he took Nate in his arms. The boy was just about eye level with him when he was standing whilst Peter sat.

Nate took a deep breath, reached out and placed a hand on Peter’s forehead. To everyone’s surprise, a warm yellow-ish glow then encompassed Nate’s body and stretched out over Peter’s as the boy touched his forehead once again. Peter had never felt a sensation like it. The warmth of the glow from Nate’s touch felt like the best drug in the world. A tonic. They should bottle it up and market it as an anti-depressant. It would sell out in weeks. 

It was as if all of Peter’s troubles faded to the background and he felt a surge of positive energy rush through his body. Nate chuckled but yawned and then softly fell to the floor on his bottom as the strange glow around him vanished.

“Err, what the fu-I mean, no…actually, what the fuck was that?” Harley asked, “And why do I feel like I’ve just landed in the middle of a marshmallow now?”

“Funny light!” Nate giggled, bouncing up and down, “I feel like flying!”

“That was so….weird” MJ said before laughing a little, “Hot damn, Nate has some powers we weren’t even aware of.”

“Rad” Ned said as he nodded his head at the still giggling little boy.

Peter felt choked.

Harley, MJ and Ned had clearly caught some of the positive energy that Nate had emitted from sitting so close to him, but it was nothing on the way Peter felt. Maybe it was because he’d been in such a lower place beforehand, he didn’t know, but in that moment he felt on top of the world. 

He was vaguely aware of the countdown taking place just a floor above them, several hundred people counting back from ten at once. Peter sighed. They were never going to make it back up in time so he just resigned himself to welcoming in 2020 on the floor of a bathroom. 

“Happy New Year, guys” he said softly as the bells chimed and cheers reigned supreme above, “I love each and every one of you with all I have. 2020 is going to better, I promise.”

“We love you too, Peter-Spider!” Nate said happily as he flung himself into Peter’s arms once again

“Happy New Year, babe” MJ said softly, turning Peter’s head towards her and planting a small and simple but by all means passionate kiss on his lips, “Murdock texted me about fifteen minutes ago. It’s done. He and Wade watched Skip pick up the files and put them in his coat pocket. Then they said they were off to make some fireworks of their own, which I feel we’re better off knowing nothing about.”

“Definitely” Peter nodded as the group slowly got to their feet and walked out of the bathroom together and up the stairs back into the ballroom. Betty, Flash, Liz, Sadie and Gwen were all gathered amongst the big crowd that had formed and joined hands in Auld Lang Syne.

Tony and Pepper darted towards their boys on sight and pulled them into the line-up. Peter smiled as he felt Tony press a kiss on to his forehead as the song began its fourth rotation.

“Whatever illegal shit I know you’re up to, we will discuss in the morning” the billionaire said bluntly to both him and Harley, “For now, just enjoy the party.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All in all, not a great New Year's for Our Pete but it had a nice ending. Tony hasn't been in the story much yet but he will be from here on in. The next chapter is called The Two Spider-Men and should hopefully be up sometime before the end of January because genius here has burndered himself with 3 WIP at the same time. Yay me. And happy 2020! I love you all.


	5. the two spider-men

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’ll try my best” Peter promised, “Not much I can do now anyway. Just wait for the storm to start raging, but just so I know, what did you say Osborne and Pierce were blackmailing Ross over?”
> 
> Wade and Matt looked at one another and grinned.
> 
> “Usual politician stuff” Matt said with a shrug, “He’s been having an affair, cos all politicians have an affair, and that he’d been dodging his tax returns. I can’t prove either but he’s a sleazy politician so both are likely true anyway.”
> 
> Peter nodded, sensing Wade holding back a giggle.
> 
> “And what else?” he asked with a sigh.
> 
> “May have said he has a micro-penis” Wade smirked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI, I'M BACK.
> 
> Enjoy!

**the two spider-men.**

New Year’s Day found Harley and Peter pacing around Harley’s bedroom, trying to think of a way they could cover up their sleuthing to Tony. Deep down, Peter was kind of relieved that Tony had clearly guessed something was happening as it meant they had an easy lifeline if things did go wrong, but on the other hand he knew his guardian was likely going to be furious when he found out the extent of their sabotage. Neither of the boys wanted to lie to their adoptive father directly so had decided that it would probably just be easier to admit at least some of the truth there and then. Peter really, really, really did not want to start off his New Year by telling Tony and Pepper all about what Skip had done to him so he was going to leave the fall guy part out.

“You may as well tell us” Pepper’s voice rang out from the door, both boys whipped around with wide eyes to see her standing with her arms folded and her eyebrows raised, “We’re not stupid and you two are the worst liars in the world. If you’ve got mixed up in something sketchy, just tell us now so we can untangle whatever complicated web you’ve spun. No pun intended.”

Tony appeared beside her and cast an arm around his wife’s shoulder.

“Maybe we should tell them what we already know?” he asked Pepper. She nodded. “We know you’ve been conspiring to make sure Ross gets sent down.”

“How?” Harley asked slowly.

“Because there’s a strong chance he may be acquitted and you two are…well, you two” Pepper said with a shrug, “You’re stubborn pains in the ass with strong moral compasses and an instinct to protect everyone before yourselves. Like I said, we’re not stupid.”

“He has to pay” Peter said icily, folding his arms and looking directly at Tony, “There’s no way I’m letting Thaddeus Ross get away with this and there’s no way I’m letting Harry testify in the state he’s in at the moment.”

Tony nodded, though Peter could tell he was angry.

“You really push my limits kid, y’know that?” he asked with a sigh as he took a seat on Harley’s gaming chair by his desk, “I mean, swinging around the city as a vigilante by nightfall just isn’t enough for you, you’ve got to interfere with the biggest criminal trial in United States history on top of it? I envy the families who’s biggest problems with their teenage sons is safe sex and pot smoking.”

“We can totally do more of those things, if you want” Harley offered with a smirk. Neither guardian looked impressed by the remark.

“Boys, you do realize how much trouble you could get into here, right?” Pepper asked softly, “Interfering with a trial of this magnitude? They’ll throw your asses in jail so quickly if anything comes out, and I don’t think Tony or me would be able to do anything about it.”

“Nothing’s going to go wrong” Peter said seriously, “We’ve covered all bases. Ross is going down, there’s no room for error because I’ve made sure we can’t make any.”

“D’you really believe that?” Tony asked, “There’s always a trail, Pete. You need to make sure you’ve covered it.”

Peter nodded once again.

He’d been considering this a lot. As happy as he was to be around Matt and Wade again, he knew that the longer both stayed in New York following their sabotage and leak to the Daily Bugle, there was a greater chance that the connection between all three would come to light. Matt himself had seemed to recognize this when Peter had last spoken to him but Wade hadn’t quite seemed to have caught on and had been talking about fighting crime with Peter when Spider-Man was fully functional once again.

As much as Peter would have liked that, and as much as he knew he owed Wade a hell of a lot, until the trial was over that just wasn’t a possibility. Wade had to go, and he had to act like he and Peter had never known one another.

“I’m working on it” he finally replied to Tony.

“Well, finish working on it” Tony snapped, “You need me to help you? I’ll help you, but first, I need to know exactly how far into this you two have dug yourselves.”

“Err, we’re mainly clear” Harley replied before Peter could, “We’re more the brains of the operation. We got some other people to do the leg work.”

“So more people know about this?” Pepper asked, “Who?”

“Better you don’t know” Peter replied quickly, “There’s only three more people. One of them is MJ and I know you both know we can trust her.”

“I trust Michelle” Tony said with a nod, “But she’s still just a teenager, Pete. I’m not happy about you dragging in a minor whom I have no parental responsibility for into this. I can’t protect her like I’d be able to protect you and Harley.”

Peter pursed his lips. He felt bad that MJ was involved as she was, but he also knew that he never would have stood any chance of keeping any of this a secret from her, and once she knew she would have always insisted on helping in any way she could. All he had to fall back on was his determination to leave her name totally out of things if they did get caught out.

“Who are the other two?” Pepper asked, “Can we trust them?”

“You’d probably say not if I told you who they are” Peter replied, “But I trust them. They were there for me at a time when no one else was, before you guys. At the very least, they stand to lose the most if any of this comes up, so they’re not going to be blabbing to anyone.”

“I don’t like this” Tony sighed, “I don’t like this one bit, boys. I’m worried it’s all going to end in tears.”

“We’re sorry” Harley said quietly, “Really, but there was no other way. High risk, high reward.”

“Will you ever tell us exactly what you’ve done?” Pepper asked.

“Not unless we absolutely need to” Peter said with a shrug, “But you’ll probably piece it together in a few days’ time anyway. Using the media to our advantage.”

“As long as Ross gets sent down” Tony said heavily, “And if you’re doing this to protect Harry….we’ll help you however you need us to, if you need us to.”

“Thanks” Peter smiled, “And sorry, I know you don’t need the stress.”

“You don’t need the stress either, honey” Pepper said sadly as she got up, “That’s what worries me most.”

*

Peter was a little concerned. Matt and Wade had spent the morning scoping out Central Park, looking for any sign of Skip passing over the falsified E-mails to either Jameson himself or a member of his team. It had taken all morning but at mid-day, Peter had received a video message of Skip handing the envelope of evidence over to an intern from Jameson’s office. That intern being none other than Eddie Brock. That seemed a little too close to comfort but Peter was nonetheless relieved that the documents were on their way to be coming public and the ball could start rolling. Peter swiftly deleted the video before asking Matt and Wade to come and meet him, deleting their numbers from his phone once he was done. Donning the Spider-Man suit for only the third time since the summer, Peter webbed his way over to their arranged meeting place.

Matt and Wade stood on the roof of Peter’s old apartment building in Queens, both whistling with appreciation as Peter landed in front of them.

“Damn kid, you’ve had one hell of an upgrade!” Wade said enthusiastically, “Last time I saw you swinging about like that, you were in a glorified set of Pyjamas.”

“Yeah, well, living with a billionaire” Peter shrugged, “I tell myself that it’s beneficial for everyone else I’m helping and not me….but yeah, I kinda like it.”

“You’re allowed nice things for yourself, Peter” Matt reminded him.

“I know” Peter replied with an easy smile, “That’s what I’m fight for.”

“Your girlfriend told us you ran into the scumbag” Wade said angrily, “I’m sorry you had to go through that, kiddo. You good?”

“I will be” Peter said, “Got good people around me. Harley, MJ, Tony and Pepper. All my friends, like I said before, you don’t have to worry about me anymore.”

“At least we’ve nailed the bastard!” Wade said enthusiastically

Peter smiled. Hours before, he would have shared Wade’s enthusiasm but the talk with Tony and Pepper that morning had deflated his confidence somewhat. At the very least, he needed to make sure their trail was well and truly covered. Which meant telling Matt and Wade their could be no more contact between them until after the trial.

“You need us to leave, don’t ya kid?” Matt asked, ever perceptive.

Peter nodded sadly as Wade’s eyes darted back and forth between the pair, wide and confused and looking more than a little heartbroken.

“I’m sorry” Peter sighed, “Tony knows. Well, he doesn’t know what we’ve done but he knows we’ve done something, and I don’t want you guys getting caught in any kind of crossfire. You’ve already put so much at risk. It’s…it’s better this way.”

“Bullshit!” Wade snapped, “Kiddo, I just got out of jail, I just got you back. I ain’t leaving you again this quickly, we’ve barely spent any time together!”

“Wade, I’m sorry” Peter repeated, “But it’s better this way. The trail back to me needs to be fucking nonexistent and if I’m seen talking to you guys-“

“The trail leads back to you” Matt finished for him, “I understand.”

“I don’t like it” Wade said, shaking his head, “This ain’t fair. None of it. There must be a way we can stick around without risking anything.”

“I don’t think we can” Peter sighed, “You guys more than likely went undetected last night but if you didn’t and then they link you back to Skip, link you back to me…well, we’ll all be in prison and we genuinely won’t ever see one another again. At least this way, this way we only have to wait a little while longer.”

Wade sighed. Peter felt touched. Before Skip, Peter had been aware that Wade had cared a great deal about him and Wade would often refer to Peter as one of his only friends and the only person in New York he actually respected.

“Wade, I’ll never be able to repay all you’ve done for me” Peter told the man softly, “What you did to Skip, what you did last night, you did that all to protect me. I know you don’t think you are, but you’re a really good person and I doubt I’d even be alive without you. I owe you, so let me protect you until this is all over and make sure you don’t end up back in prison because of me again.”

“The kid’s right, Wade” Matt interjected, “You can come and stay with me out of state until this is all over. The feds weren’t wild about you coming back to New York anyway. If we leave, if we go now, there’s going to be nothing linking us back to Westcott and these false papers. And then, like the kid says, when the trials over we can come back. Pick up where we left off.”

“I promise” Peter added, for good measure.

“And you’re safe” Wade reminded himself, “You’re safe with Stark, he can protect you. You’ve got family and friends; you don’t need me anymore.”

“I’ll always need you” Peter said with a smile, “Always. Which is why I’m asking you to go and warning you that I’m going to have to pretend I don’t know you until all of this is over. Soon enough, I’m going to have to come out publicly as Spider-Man. I don’t want you caught up in all that.”

Both Matt and Wade seemed like they were about to protest Peter’s decision to out his own identity but both thought better of it.

Wade simply just pulled Peter into a bone crushing hug and kissed him on the temple. Peter held back the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes.

“Take it easy, kiddo, and be careful” Wade said, slightly choked, “Ross and people like him are smart and slippery. Just watch your back.”

Peter nodded and looked towards Matt.

“I’ve got faith in you kid” he said simply, “I know you’ll see this through. I’m sure everything will work out and then when all this is over….like you said, we’ll pick up where we left off.”

“I’ll try my best” Peter promised, “Not much I can do now anyway. Just wait for the storm to start raging, but just so I know, what did you say Osborne and Pierce were blackmailing Ross over?”

Wade and Matt looked at one another and grinned.

“Usual politician stuff” Matt said with a shrug, “He’s been having an affair, cos all politicians have an affair, and that he’d been dodging his tax returns. I can’t prove either but he’s a sleazy politician so both are likely true anyway.”

Peter nodded, sensing Wade holding back a giggle.

“And what else?” he asked with a sigh.

“May have said he has a micro-penis” Wade smirked.

*

Peter’s next visit was to Harry. Since Christmas Eve, he’d been so busy planning everything that he’d not really checked in with his cousin and he was feeling kind of guilty about it. Harry was still struggling with everything that had happened and the whole reason Peter and Harley had started all of this in the first place was to spare him the trauma of having to lie for them under oath. Harry was too vulnerable and scattered to convincingly lie under that much pressure and keep all of the admittedly shady things the Avengers had done to bring down Ross and the others a secret. Peter knew the fallout from the false documents in the press would be able to push him to reveal himself as Spider-Man and then re-take the narrative of the trial and make sure Ross was sent down.

He was doing all of this for Harry, he couldn’t forget his cousin in the middle of it all. And he owed him an explanation.

“No, no fucking way, Peter!” Harry exclaimed immediately after having been informed of everything that had happened in the last week, “For god sake, isn’t this exactly the opposite of what we talked about? I’d work on my recovery and you’d stop with all this self-sacrificing bullshit!”

“Harry, calm down” Peter said quietly, closing the door so that Bucky and Sam wouldn’t be able to hear any of the intimate details of their argument, “Harley, MJ and me have it all under control. It’s not going to go wrong. I’ve sorted it all.”

“Do you hear yourself?” Harry asked angrily, “You’re not Deep Throat, Peter. Ross isn’t Richard Nixon; you’re not going to bring him down this way. There’s too much surveillance. The jigsaw pieces of this incredibly stupid fucking puzzle are scattered across this cities security systems. All someone has to do is piece all of them together!”

“Then I’ll wipe them!” Peter shouted back, “If needs be, I’ll take the hit and go to fucking prison. I don’t care, I just don’t want you to-“

“Peter, please, stop this” Harry said as he lunged forward and took his cousins hand in his, “I know that self-preservation isn’t exactly a priority for you but it needs to start being. After everything you’ve been through, I’m not going to sit back and let you lose everything for the benefit of everyone else. Please for once in your life just be a little selfish.”

Peter sighed and felt Harry squeeze his palms.

“Harry, I have no intentions of being caught out” he assured him, “This is all so we can get Ross and…well, there’s….I’m not being completely unselfish. I’m getting my own justice out of this as well.”

“How?” Harry asked, dropping Peter’s hands.

“Err, I didn’t finish telling you everything yet” Peter carried on, “You know the fall guy that I mentioned before?”

“You mean the totally innocent person who’s going to be charged with Perverting the Cause of Justice?” Harry asked sounding deeply unimpressed, “What about them?”

“It’s Skip Westcott” Peter said heavily, “The….err, the man who r-raped me.”

Harry’s face fell as Peter’s whole body began to shake and tremble. It was the first time since his conformation with the man the night before that Peter had actually thought about him, and the memories of it were coming back thick and fast. Once again, Harry reached out for Peter’s hand but instead this time it was so he could help ground Peter. Quietly, Peter sat himself down on Harry’s bed and felt his cousin put an arm around his shoulder.

“You set up your rapist for this?” Harry asked, “How?”

“I err, two f-friends of m-mine from the streets” Peter explained, “They falsified the E-mails and the blackmail proof on his work computer. When they come out as fake, he’s the one who’ll be punished for it. He’s the one who’ll take the fall.”

“I see” Harry said slowly, “I mean, this is so crazy, but I guess I’m glad your going to have that piece of shit dragged into hell with Ross. And I’m a killer, I can’t exactly judge your morals, can I?”

“You’re not a killer, how many times?” Peter asked, exasperated.

“Frustrating, isn’t it?” Harry said with a smirk, “When someone refuses to make the progress that you want them to. I guess we’ve both still got a way to go.”

“Yeah, I guess we do” Peter sighed, “I’m sorry, Harry, I know dumping all of this on you was probably the last thing you needed but I kind of felt like I owed you an explanation. I said I’d come over and check on you every week and I let you down-“

“No, you didn’t” Harry replied, “I’ve been fine, really. Ask Bucky and Sam. We went out for dinner, I went and saw some of my old friends from the hockey team, I’ve even joined a dating website! OK, Sam set my account up for me and I haven’t been on it yet, but I’ve not deleted the app. I’m-I’m OK, I feel like I’m starting to get my life back. Might even come back to school.”

“That’s great, Harry, that’s really great” Peter said with a smile, “But you do know that knowing that is only going to make me work harder to make sure all of this works out, right?”

Harry giggled.

“Yeah, I figured” he said with a shrug, “I guess I can make my peace with that, knowing that if it all goes to plan, at least you get to see that scumbag go to prison at the end of it. But it is crazy, though.”

“Totally crazy” Peter laughed, “I hear myself sometimes and I have to wonder how my life ended up this way. I just want to be normal.”

“Does that involve swinging from skyscrapers stopping crime?” Harry asked, “Because I’m not really sure if that counts as normal. Heroic, but weird.”

“They’ll put that on my tombstone” Peter laughed and Harry returned it. Peter left not long after, sharing a hug with his cousin before slipping out of his bedroom window and webbing away into the night.

*

Of course, nothing was ever simple. Peter had been swinging through Queens with the intention of heading back to Manhattan when a massive explosion blew out of a factory just by the harbor and fire came spilling out of it after. Zeroing in via Karen, Peter realized that there were several people trapped inside the burning building and found himself flying towards it, forgetting that he wasn’t at total strength yet and only two days before had barely managed to pick up a wooden bench in training with Natasha. He knew that he should radio for assistance but he simply didn’t have times, his hearing was picking up on the pleading screams from inside the building.

“Why are they even working on New Year’s Day?” Peter muttered to himself as he landed in front of the burning building. A wave of intense heat hit him immediately and Peter winced. This was going to be a lot harder than he thought.

 _“Peter, I really would suggest waiting for assistance”_ Karen told him, concern somehow evident in her robotic voice.

“No time, Karen, they’re burning to death in there” Peter said, throwing a web to the roof of the building and just about managing to pull himself up with it, wincing with pain in his arms as he did so. He could hear the distant sounds of the emergency services approaching him from the roads below and was grateful that help was already on the way.

He was about to turn around and wait when a little girl’s crying voice hit him like a ton of bricks. She was crying out for someone in a language Peter didn’t understand, a little closer to the door and he was soon able to decipher that she was speaking in Spanish. She was directly below him, separated only by the concrete of the ceiling. The heat was getting more and more intense.

“Here goes nothing” Peter gulped as he struggled to channel all of his muted levels of strength into kicking down the door that lead people inside to the roof of the building, “Karen, message Tony and tell him to organize a roof side evacuation of this building. This stairwell seems mainly clear, if we can get people over hear, we’ll be able to evacuate them via helicopter.”

 _“OK, Peter, but I once again must suggest waiting for assistance before you enter the building”_ Karen replied and Peter rolled his eyes.

“I don’t have time” he coughed as he stepped into the stairwell and coughed over some of the smoke, “It’s getting too thick, I have to get out as many people as I can right now.”

Karen didn’t argue back and Peter carried on. With every step, he knew he was making a big mistake and that it was leading him further and further into a situation he would not be able to get out of. Nevertheless, Peter soldiered on and managed to find the crying little girl huddled with a few others at the back of a stock room. Peter didn’t know why or what the hell they were all doing there but he figured it didn’t really matter at that moment.

“Hey kids” he wheezed, “It’s me – Spider-Man, I’m back! Follow me, I’ll make sure you’re all safe.”

All of the kids merely stared at him, a few of them were even crying and seemed to be almost scared by his mere presence. Peter kicked himself internally for forgetting that they did not speak Spanish and if they’d only recently come to New York, they might not even know who Spider-Man is.

Luckily, the little girl Peter had initially heard seemed to have faith in him and stepped forward, prompting all of the others to follow her. Silently, Peter took the leader by her hand and lead the children out of the burning room and back on to the roof.

“Mama” one of the girls said tearfully once they were safe, shaking Peter’s arm, “Mama’s still in there, in the back.”

Peter sighed. Karen’s scanning had alerted him to the presence of seven people within the building, in all the fuss, Peter had forgotten to do a proper headcount so had lead all of the kids out without knowing that he’d left someone behind.

“Don’t you dare, Parker” a younger voice rang out behind Peter as he was about to turn back. Peter grimaced as he turned around to find Miles Morales standing behind him, fully decked out in his own improved Spider-Man outfit.

Peter cringed. He’d been keen on his Spider-Man and Miles’s Spider-Man not being seen in the same place at the same time, it worked in both their favors that people believed there was only one Spider-Man, but he guessed that this counted as a big enough emergency to warrant them both being there.

“You’re not properly healed yet, Spidey” Miles said strictly, “And I know damn sure that if it was me about to run into a burning building in that kind of state, you’d be webbing me to the floor and stopping me. Let me go and get the kids Mom.”

“Fine” Peter sighed, “But this is the last time I stand back and let you throw yourself into danger whilst I’m on the scene.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever” Miles said flippantly before heading into the building and re-appearing with the thankfully conscious woman draped over his shoulder less than a minute later. The woman was coughing heavily but smiled as her children raced towards her. Peter felt immense sympathy and concern for the woman, terrified over the specifics of the circumstances that had lead her and her six children to be alone in a burning factory at night on New Year’s Day. Tony’s helicopter was approaching them now and the police had finally arrived below. Peter noticed George Stacy leave one of the cars and turned to Miles.

“Thanks for the helping hand” he said quickly, “But the chief of police is here and you need to go, he’s a real hard ass, I can deal with him.”

“How’d you mean?” Miles asked.

“Let’s just say, I’ve already met him and he’s not a Spidey fan” Peter replied, “Thinks that he, we-I guess, is a menace to the city. I can handle him, you get yourself home. Only one Spidey, remember?”

“Yeah, I remember” Miles sighed before shooting the kids and the Mom a smile, “I’ll see you around, Parker, when you’re back at full health. Don’t let it be before.”

Just as Tony’s chopper appeared above them, Miles effortlessly webbed himself away and Peter hoped that no one noticed him. Down below, the police and the fire officers were already hard at work and anyone else present seemed to be transfixed on Tony’s helicopter.

“Thank you” the Mom said, hugging Peter and struggling over her broken English, “We owe the two of you our lives. Thank you.”

“It’s what we do” Peter said, saluting the woman and pulling the wooden ladder down so her and the kids could start climbing aboard. Natasha echoed the salute from the pilots seat as Peter flipped off the building, landing directly in front of George Stacy.

“Spider-Man” he said formally, “Guess I should thank you for your help.”

“All in a day’s work” Peter said enthusiastically, “Dunno what they were all doing there on New Year’s Day, very sketch.”

“Who was in there, exactly?” Stacy asked.

“A woman and her six kids” Peter explained, “Spanish, think they’re very new to the City. I don’t suppose I need to explain to you why a foreign woman working late alone in a factory with her six kids is ringing a major alarm bell for me.”

“Modern slavery would be my best guess” Stacy sighed, “We’ll look into it….you, err, you make a habit of interfering in matters like this?”

“Only when I have to” Peter shrugged, “Which ends up being more than I’d like to. I was just in the right place at the right time tonight.”

“Well, I’m sure the woman and her children are grateful” Stacy replied, “But maybe in future, you could wait around until the emergency services have arrived. I don’t want the death of a kid on my conscience.”

“I’ll always do what I have to in order to help people” Peter replied testily, “There’s nothing you can say or do to change that, Officer Stacy.”

Stacy’s eyes-widened and he looked at Peter with suspicion.

“Only been in the job a few weeks, never met you before” he said slowly, “How’d you know my name?”

“I do my research” Peter said breezily, “I like to know who I’m going to be working with. And that’s with, not for. I’ll help out the law whenever I can and I’ll never undermine it but I’m my own man, Officer Stacy, I’m not about to start following some rigid rule book.”

Stacy smirked.

“No wonder my daughter’s so obsessed with you” he snarled, “I don’t doubt your intentions are good, Spidey, but I worry about the impact your actions are having on the young people of this city. One teen vigilante is enough, I don’t want any pretenders. Dangerous.”

Before Peter could reply, he became aware of the smirking figure of Eddie Brock approaching them. Peter hadn’t really focused much on Eddie when they’d met the night before but he knew enough already to know he wasn’t a big fan of the guy. He seemed smarmy and his views on Spider-Man didn’t exactly help his cause.

“I have to say I agree, Officer Stacy” Eddie said as he approached Peter and George, “We’ve got enough crime in this city without adding to the risks by having copy cat versions of you, Spidey.”

Peter rolled his eyes and was aware that George Stacy himself seemed to be eyeing Eddie with the same level of disdain that Peter was feeling. It was comforting.

“With all due respect, whoever you are, I’ve been doing this for years” Peter replied tensely, “And I’ve been popular the entire time. If I was going to have imitators, they’d have shown themselves by now. And I would never encourage it. I only do what I do because I got enhanced.”

“Very well” Eddie said, looking very pleased with himself.

“Who even are you?” Stacy asked Eddie bluntly.

“Eddie Brock, sir, junior reporter for The Daily Bugle” Eddie said proudly as he held out his hand to Stacy, who shook it as if he was scared he’d catch something from Eddie if he touched him. Peter repressed the need to correct Eddie and tell Stacy he was actually only a college intern at the paper but that was something Peter Parker knew, not Spider-Man.

A few officers came over and informed Stacy that there was no one else in the building and that the blaze was more or less under control. Eddie jotted every word that was spoken in front of him into his little pocket book. Peter smiled as he noticed a brown envelope poking out of the top of Eddie’s bag. Matt and Wade’s doctored evidence was on its way to the Bugle.

“Jameson’s a real hard ass” Stacy said, “Never misses the chance to shit on Spidey. I want to make it clear to you off the record, Mr. Brock, that any issue the NYPD has with Spider-Man are not the same issues that are highlighted every day in your rag.”

Eddie nodded, gulping slightly.

“That was a Stark chopper, right?” Stacy asked, turning his attention back to Spider-Man.

“Yes, sir” Peter replied brightly, “I imagine the woman and her kids are being taken to the MedBay in the Avengers tower for a health check-up. Mr. Stark’s always very willing to help me out when he can. I got lucky tonight; he was able to send the chopper over very quickly.”

“Well, I guess me and some of the boys should head down their and interview them” Stacy concluded, putting his cap back on, “If that’s all gentleman.”

“See you around, sir” Eddie said enthusiastically but Stacy just ignored him. He made eye-contact with Peter, however, and gave him something of a courteous nod. Peter figured that Gwen’s homemade brand of pro-Spidey propaganda was beginning to have an effect on he man. Peter and Eddie were left standing alone once Stacy had gone.

“I don’t like you” Eddie said bluntly once he was sure no one else was around. Peter scoffed.

“Not a problem” Peter shrugged, choosing to rise above it, “Not everyone does. Don’t really get why though, all I’m doing is trying to help the little guy.”

“All on your own?” Eddie mocked him, “As if you’re the only one in this whole city that has a social conscience? That cares about the every day struggles of regular people?”

“Do you care?” Peter snapped, starting to get a little testy, “Cos it seems to me like you’re just out for what you can get, no matter how you get it.”

“Oh, pal, you really have no idea” Eddie said, flashing his smile that made Peter want to punch him in the face, “Remember the name Eddie Brock, Spidey. It’s here to stay.”

Peter didn’t bother replying, he merely attached a web to the nearest lamppost and webbed away.

*

Peter was cautious as he made his way back to the tower. George Stacy was interviewing the Spanish family in the MedBay and Peter didn’t want to risk his identity getting out just yet. Something about the way Eddie had asked him if he was the ‘only one’ during their confrontation was bothering Peter. By the time he got back to his bedroom window, however, Peter’s main concern was getting some food inside of him and climbing into bed as quickly as he could.

As usual, some combination of MJ, Harley or Nate were waiting for him inside his room. Tonight, it was all three. Harley was armed with a change of clothing, MJ with some snacks and Nate was clutching the bedtime story Peter had been reading him over the past few nights excitedly to his chest.

“You good, bro?” Harley asked as Peter clambered in through the window, “Miles has been in touch. Please listen to what he has to say and don’t run into any more burning buildings before you’re ready. Totally not cool.”

“I’m fine” Peter insisted.

“You look exhausted” MJ said bluntly, “But well done on getting those kids out. We’ve heard it all from them on a first hand account. You’ve made quite the impression.”

“It was nothing” Peter wheezed as he stepped out of his smoke infected suit and handed it over to Harley who gently placed it in the charging pod, “What was I meant to do? Not save them.”

“I guess not” Harley said as he passed Peter a pair of pants, “We’re just worried, this was like your first big Spidey thing for the summer, and I am your war wife. Waiting by the window, praying for your safe return from battle.”

“Err, that’s MJ” Peter corrected him.

“Err, no it’s not” MJ smirked, “If anything, I’m the trusting mistress who knows you’re going to be fine because you send me more letters than Miss Frumpy and Boring back home.”

“Oh whatever miss new boobs” Harley said jokingly, “No one has a monopoly on worrying about Peter, except maybe Tony. He nearly fainted when he got your distress call.”

“Crap, where is he?” Peter sighed, “Between this and the trial sabotage, I feel like I’ve not done his anxiety wonders today.”

“He’s sitting with those kids whilst their Mom talks to the cops” MJ explained, “Gwen’s dad’s here, he seems not as anti-Spidey was I was thinking he was going to be.”

“Yeah, I think Gwen mentioned something about working on that” Harley replied, “Jeez, Pete, how long were you in there? You stink of smoke.”

“Only a few minutes, but it was intense” Peter sighed, “I guess I’ll go and shower. You guys are good covering me for another few minutes, right?”

“Of course we are” MJ said with a smile.

Peter smiled back at them before heading into his en suite bathroom and stepping into the shower. His muscles were aching like hell and he felt like adrenaline and only adrenaline was all that was keeping his legs from buckling underneath him. It was kind of frustrating. As much progress as he knew he was making, he still couldn’t escape these reminders that he was still nowhere near back to his full enhanced strength and wouldn’t be for a while.

Once he was done in the shower, Peter wrapped a towel around his waist and headed back into his bedroom to find MJ was now alone and sitting up waiting for him on the bed. She smiled and took a step towards him.

“Harley and Nate went to get some dinner” she explained, “Nate’s on about you reading him a story before he goes to bed, but I figure we got some time between now and then.”

“OK” Peter said nervously, catching the way MJ’s eyes were scanning over his bare and wet torso, “I feel like…I need you to know, I’m still not-“

“I know” MJ insisted, “And that wasn’t what I was hinting at, as delicious as you look, I just want you to be able to take a few moments for yourself. You’re meant to be resting and yet you’ve been running around all day after other people. Just stop and breathe.”

Peter could never ignore her instructions. She was the only one who had that affect on him. As close as he was to Harley and Ned, as scared as he was of Natasha and as dutiful as he was to Tony and Pepper, Peter could still find himself able to defy their instructions when he needed to. Not with MJ, though. He didn’t really know why; she just had a pull on him.

So, he stopped and he breathed.

“I have so many self-inflicted spinning plates” he groaned, a few minutes after resting his head on her shoulder.

“Yes, and for the best reasons” MJ replied, “Harley spoke to me while you were out. Kept me up to date, I guess your also kinda sad about losing Matt and Wade again.”

“I’ll see them soon enough” Peter sighed, “But it does suck, yeah. I missed Wade so much that I couldn’t even talk about him for a whole year, MJ.”

“And you told Harry?” MJ went on, “He messaged me. Asked me to look out for you. As if I even needed asking.”

“I had to tell him” Peter yawned, “Not fair to keep him in the dark…..Liz’s boyfriend was at the warehouse fire, by the way. I don’t think I like him.”

“I should think not, he’s a douche” MJ smirked, “What did he say?”

“Just acted like a kiss ass in front of Officer Stacy” Peter explained, “And then he kept saying these weird things about me being the only Spider-Man that’s kind of freaked me out a little.”

“Why?” MJ asked

“Well, cos Miles came to help out” Peter said, “It was the first time we’ve both been in the same place at the same time in our Spidey outfits. I’m just a little worried it’ll get out that there’s two of us. It’s better if there’s only one. For Miles’s safety, if nothing else.”

And it was for Miles’s own good. It meant Peter could take the brunt of any criticism Spider-Man faced if the time ever came.

“What would be so bad about people finding out there are two though?” MJ asked

“Just complicates things” Peter muttered, “If this thing with Ross works, I’m going to have to come out as Spider-Man and I don’t know if I’ll be able to paint myself as some great big beacon of light and truth if everyone finds out that I’ve been lying and there’s actually two Spider-Men. Not one. I dunno, it’s just…it’d be a real pain in the ass.”

“And you think Eddie knows?” MJ asked, “As in, he saw the two of you together?”

“Wouldn’t that be just my luck?” Peter asked sardonically.

*

** THE TWO SPIDER-MEN. **

****

_YES! You heard it here first folks, according to our new Junior reporter Edward Brock, New York City is indeed plagued by not just one but two webbed menaces. During last nights fire at a factory in downtown Queens, Mr. Brock alleges that he saw two Spider-Men standing a top the blazing warehouse. Unfortunately, due to the thickness of the smoke from the fire, Brock was unable to take a picture of the two menaces together but we have it on good authority from a second source that New York City has in fact been subject to the antics of two Spider-Men for at least the past six months! Shocking._

_But, there’s more!_

_Our secondary source has also revealed to us the true identity of one of these nuisance vigilantes! The young man in question, however, hails from a very prominent and powerful New York family and as such The Daily Bugle will not be revealing his identity today. No doubt if this young man is Spider-Man, his powerful family will fight tooth and nail to keep his identity a secret and will come down hard on those who have outed him. Whilst The Daily Bugle fears no man in the pursuit of truth and justice in journalism, we feel it is vital that we have more concrete evidence before making such a bold move._

_Stay tuned for more updates on the Two Spider-Men here at The Daily Bugle.Net_

*

“Oh fuck” said Harley as he eyes dotted down the computer screen, “This isn’t good!”

“That slimy little shit” MJ shrieked, “I’m going to hunt him down and-“

“Nothing, you will do nothing, none of us will” Peter snapped, “If we make any kind of move on Brock for this, we’ll be essentially outing me as Spider-Man before we planned.”

“Does that matter anymore?” Harley asked, “The whole point of you coming out as Spider-Man was because then the whole world would know that you’re an open and honest person, Pete. Get Ross back in the public’s sympathetic eye and then rip it all away from him at the last second. Can we even do that now?”

Peter rested his head in his hands and took a deep breath.

There was nothing else he could do. Brock had unintentionally backed them into a corner.

“No” he concluded after a few seconds of thought, “We can’t. It’s-shit, I wanted more time, it’s got to be now. I’ve got come out as Spider-Man now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DA-DA-DUMMM.
> 
> I really hate Eddie. He's based more on the Topher Grace/Spider-Man 3 Eddie Brock than the Tom Hardy version. More of a slimy, people pleasing, kind of pathetic weasal in this story. 
> 
> Next Chapter Title: meteors at midnight. 
> 
> Expect it by the end of the month!


	6. the truth will out.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Peter broke her heart” Eddie snarled.
> 
> “That’s not strictly true” Liz interjected quickly but everyone present knew she was lying. 
> 
> “Maybe he did, and what does that make you exactly?” Harley shot back, “A rebound? You can’t control who Liz sees and who she doesn’t, even if it is an ex-boyfriend she still has feelings for.”
> 
> “Can you both stop talking about like I’m not here?” Liz snapped angrily, “I don’t have feelings for Peter and Eddie, I’ll see my friends whenever and wherever I want to, OK? You have no right to make those kind of decisions for me.”
> 
> “I’m just trying to protect you!” Eddie snapped, turning away from Harley to face her, “There are things you don’t know about Peter, Liz. Things that make him dangerous.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not totally wild about this chapter until the final section. But I'm very proud of the final section.

**the truth will out.**

Honesty was the best policy, at least if Peter was about to turn everyone’s lives upside down once again so quickly. Coming out as Spider-Man was unavoidable now if they wanted to nail Ross and Peter desperately wanted to spare Miles of the attention and notoriety he’d receive if he was outed as well, so revealing his own identity was the only option. It was like he and Harley had discussed, both had lost their anonymity anyway now the whole world knew they were the adopted children of Tony Stark and Pepper Potts. 

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Harley asked quietly as he and Peter sat in a board room on the seventeenth floor where they had just requested everyone to join them via Friday, “It’s not too late to change your mind, no one’s put two and two together yet.”

“Someone will, it’s just a matter of time” Peter replied with a sigh. He was pleased that they’d managed to get Matt and Wade out of the city before any of this came to light. “Besides, if I do it, all the attention will shift to me and no one will really focus on Miles.”

“Is it even worth me reminding you that one of your New Year’s resolutions was to stop being selfless to the point of personal detriment?” Harley asked sharply

“MJ made me swear to that” Peter grumbled.

“All the more reason to stick to it, if you ask me” Harley shrugged, “But I know you and if you’ve made up your mind, there’s not much I can do to stop you.”

“Good, glad we’re agreed” Peter shot him a smile, “I feel like this will just be a formality anyway. Tony and Pep aren’t stupid, they’re going to know the only way to squash this is if I reveal I’m Spider-Man. It’s pretty much set in stone.”

“I guess” Harley said sadly, “It just sucks that the world keeps finding new ways to screw you over.”

“I’m used to it”

“You shouldn’t be”

“Whatever.”

Their back and forth was interrupted by Tony, Pepper, Rhodey, Happy, Natasha and Bruce all filing into the room followed by Nick Fury and Maria Hill. Peter grimaced at everyone as they all took a seat around the conference table without uttering a word and then turned to him. It was strange, he thought, that even after living with them for two years Peter still found himself a little starstruck when he was in the same room with the world’s greatest heroes.

“What’s this about kid, as if I already don’t know?” Tony sighed.

“You know I have to do this” Peter replied quickly, grateful that Tony had eliminated any need for beating around the bush, “If I come forward, we can make sure Miles doesn’t get outed as well. It stops the rumors, gives us back some control and will allow Pepper to work her positive PR magic.”

Pepper nodded and smiled a sad smiled. Harley rested his head on her shoulders as she reached over and grabbed Peter’s hand in hers. 

“It doesn’t have to be this way, sweetie” she said softly, “I’m sure we can find another way to protect both yours and Miles’ secret identities.”

Peter took a deep breath. He wanted to tell her and Tony all about the plan to stitch up Ross and that him coming out as Spider-Man now was vital to that, but it would too complicated to let everyone know the plan he and his friends had already set into motion. Too many people in the know would mean a bigger chance of a potential slip up down the line. 

“It’s time” Peter said instead, “I’ve been hiding away from this for too long. It was always inevitable, especially after I started to live with you guys. I’m surprised it hasn’t come out before now.”

“Your anonymity is shot to shit anyway, I guess” Natasha piped up, “You and Harley can barely walk outside of this tower without some kind of attention. My only worry is this is going to increase the attention on you, tenfold.”

“Here, here” Tony said darkly

“I’ll deal with it” Peter shrugged, “Like I said, if I get to take some of the heat off Harley as well as protecting Miles, it’ll be worth it.”

“Kid, we’ve talked about this self-sacrificing hero complex thing” Tony sighed, “A situation where you can spare others but get hurt yourself isn’t a good one. Their ease doesn’t eliminate your pain.”

“My only concern is how this may effect the case with Thaddeus Ross” Maria Hill chimed in, “If the general public finds out that Peter’s enhanced and potentially dangerous, it softens what Ross did in the eyes of a lot of people. There’s still a lot of anti-mutant sentiment in the world and Ross is definitely slippery enough to take advantage of that to get himself off.”

“He goes from kidnapping an innocent teenager with a tragic backstory to a mutant who could easily kill someone if he ever lost control” Fury clarified, “That is not the kind of re-focusing we need if we’re going to get that asshole put away. Sorry Parker, but this thing is bigger than you and I run the show here. You’re staying anonymous. Like Pepper said, we’ll find a way of keeping both you and the Morales kid safe.”

For the first time, Peter felt a little panicked. Fury didn’t know the risks he’d taken to put his plan into action and how important it was that the public know Spider-Man’s real identity before the trial began. If Ross’s team were able to spin Peter’s identity and make it look like The Avengers really did have something to hide, then the case for Ross acting in the best interests of the countries security would grow. Maybe they’d think Spider-Man was dangerous, maybe the courts would be able to conclude that Ross was acting in order to protect millions of people at the expense of a few hundred?

It wasn’t a risk Peter was willing to take. But he was still a kid. And he was still a kid who was more than tiny bit afraid of the stern, serious man with an eye-patch who dominated every room he walked in to. Nick Fury was intimidating, no two ways about that. Peter needed back up if he wanted to convince Fury to let him go ahead, and he knew Harley wouldn’t be much use. He was even more intimidated by the SHIELD boss than Peter was. 

Peter knew there was only one person in the room who had both the power to back him up against Fury no matter what but also continue stand in his corner no matter what. And so it was with a heavy heart, that Peter shifted his focus to Tony. He caught his adoptive father’s eye and looked directly into them, so fiercely that he could see Tony shudder a little under the weight. 

“I have to do this” Peter said plainly, “Please, Tony, you have to let them let me do this. It’s time, I have to do this.”

“Why?” Tony asked quietly. Despite the presence of everyone else around them, in that moment, it felt like he and Tony were the only two people on Earth. 

“You’re not going to like it” Peter said shakily, “You’re going to hate it, in fact, but I also know you’ll understand it and you’ll see I have no other choice. I know you’ve given me so much already Tony, but I need a little more from you now. I need you to have faith in me.”

Peter saw Tony look towards Pepper and then Rhodey, both of whom sported ashy and serious faces as their eyes (and everyone else’s) darted back and forth between father and son. Harley looked green. 

“Kid, I-“

“Do you?” Peter asked, “Do you have faith in me? To do the right thing. To see something through to the end, no matter what the cost?”

“That isn’t what I wanted for you” Tony breathed back. 

“When do either of us ever get what we want?” Peter asked sharply, “I’m not asking you to like it, I’m asking you if you have enough faith in me to let me do what I need to do to make sure we get the best possible outcome for everyone? For everyone Ross hurt, for Steve, for Harry, for Miles. And for me.”

Tony nodded. Slowly but surely and Peter smiled a little as he watched his adoptive father snap out of his almost trance like state and snap back into typical Tony Stark fashion.

“The kid’s coming out” he announced, turning to Fury who grumbled and leaned back in his chair, looking deeply unimpressed, “Fury, I’m sorry. But my faith in him outweighs pretty much anything you can throw at us for going against you. If Peter’s worked out a way to make this work for everyone, then I believe him. And I’ll support him.”

“What have you done, Parker?” Fury asked, looking at Peter directly and seemingly ignoring everything Tony had to say. Peter figured that was the closest thing to acceptance from the man they were going to get. 

“You’ll see” Peter sighed, “And you’re probably going to spend the next few months hating my guts, but it’ll be worth it in the end.”

Fury said nothing more. He got out of his chair, beckoned Hill by his side and left the room without another word. 

Everyone else filed out in succession until it was just Peter, Harley, Tony and Pepper left in the room. The teenagers gulped, knowing what was coming.

“Given that I’ve just damn near severed myself off from SHIELD once again for you” Tony began, towering over Peter in a way he’d never really been capable of before, “I’m going to need the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Cos something’s telling me the courts aren’t going to be getting that.”

*

It wasn’t pretty but between them Peter and Harley explained everything they’d been up to over the past few weeks. Harley swore that he’d seen Tony go through the seven stages of grief in about six seconds and then simply walked out of the room to get some space, probably via smashing something up in the lab whilst venting to Rhodey, leaving the boys at the mercy of an absolutely livid looking Pepper Potts.

“I don’t even have words for you, boys” she sighed as she sat down opposite them and buried her head in her hands, “I mean, have either of you even considered for a second all that you’re putting at risk by doing all this? You could be throwing your whole lives away”

“We did think about-“

“No, you didn’t!” Pepper snapped, “You can’t have. I know you both had the best of intentions here but my god, boys, you’ve put our whole family at risk and not even had the decency to let us know until it was too late to do anything about it!”

“What do you mean?” asked Harley

“You think if this all comes out, the press and the legal system aren’t going to assume that your father wasn’t behind this?” Pepper demanded hotly, “There are people in this world who would kill to see Tony behind bars, some very powerful people. And you’ve just handed them the opportunity of a lifetime.”

“But there’s no way to connect Tony to any of this!” Peter protested. 

“Oh don’t be so naïve Peter, of course there is!” Pepper yelled, standing up and towering above the younger teen who withered away a little, “You live here. You’re Tony’s kids and the whole world isn’t aware of your particular brand of chaotic genius. Of course the whole world is going to credit Tony with all this, and he’ll probably take the fall for you. Because that’s what Tony does.”

“I’d never let him do that!” Peter cried.

“You think you’d be able to talk him out of it?” Pepper asked harshly, “Because you were perfectly happy to manipulate his devotion to you to get what you wanted back there, weren’t you? You know how far he’d go for you and Harley. He’d tear apart the whole Universe if it meant keeping you safe.”

Peter stopped in his tracks, though he hadn’t actually been aware he’d started pacing anxiously until he stopped. He’d made Pepper mad plenty of times in the two years he’d been living with her but this was something else entirely, she sounded heartbroken and was looking at Peter like he’d betrayed her. 

“Pepper, I’m sorry-“

“I don’t want to hear sorry from you right now” Pepper replied calmly, a chilly iciness overwhelming her voice, “Either of you. I expected better. I thought bringing you into our lives would help fix Tony, not that you’d throw it back in our faces by being so reckless.”

“We’re sorry” Harley stammered, lip trembling as he stepped towards her, “We got carried away with it all, we were so obsessed with getting Ross that we kinda didn’t think about everyone else. It was never our intention to set Tony up for a fall like that.”

“I’ll take the fall” Peter offered, “I’ll take the fall a million times over if this goes wrong. It was my plan. I put it all into motion. I’ve…I’ll keep proof that it was me, I’ll take whatever punishment they give me but….Ross, Ross has to go down for what he did, Pep. You know that. He’s part of the reason Steve’s dead.”

“So, your fall guy, the one you got your friends to set up? You’ll excuse him?” Pepper asked, folding her arms and narrowing her eyes, “Cos that’s what surprises me more than anything, that you’d be alright with setting up a completely innocent man for a crime he didn’t commit without conscience.”

“He’s not innocent” Harley grumbled, causing Peter to immediately shoot his brother a furious and beseeching look. 

“How’d you mean?” Pepper asked leaning forwards.

“I can’t say” Harley muttered, shifting his feet and looking at the grounds, “It’s not my place.”

“Right, of course not” Pepper snapped, tilting her head to look at the ceiling, “Because even now, after all of this, the two of you still can’t look me in the eye and tell me the whole truth. I feel like I don’t even know you guys.”

Peter saw tears forming in Harley’s eyes and silently trickle down his face. He looked at his own hands and wondered how the hell he’d managed to destroy everything without meaning to. He’d done this for them, or at least he’d convinced himself that’s what he was doing everything for. But he’d never stopped to consider everything Pepper had just said to him, and she was completely right. He should have known that Tony would throw himself to the wolves if it meant keeping him and Harley safe and now-well, now it looked like he’d managed to make Pepper hate the both of them and that was absolutely not fair on Harley.

Harley, who needed and basked in maternal love every minute of every day. Betrayed and abused by his biological mother, Peter knew how important the bond with Pepper had been to Harley’s recovery and his brother would completely fall apart if that was taken away from him now. Harley’s trembling figure next to him said as much.

“Pepper, please, I’m sorry” Harley cried, wiping tears away from his face, “No more secrets, no more, we’ll tell you everything. I promise, I promise, please don’t hate us.”

Pepper, who had been walking towards a now open elevator, turned around and Peter felt a little relief as he watched her face soften a little at the sight of Harley’s sobbing.

“Harley, breathe-“

“I-I-p-please d-don’t h-hate me” Harley begged, falling to his knees, “Please don’t leave me, I’m sorry, Mom. I’m sorry.”

Pepper Potts may have been a badass but she did not have a heart of stone and Peter felt his heart soar as he watched Pepper fly across the room and scoop Harley into her arms. He sobbed openly on her shoulder as she gracefully knelt down next to him and held him.

“I don’t hate you, honey” she assured him, “I could never. I’m just…sad and angry and disappointed, but I don’t hate you and I’m not going to leave you. This is your home; it will always be your home. Both of you. I just need some time.”

“This isn’t his fault, Pep” Peter said seriously, “This was all me. Harley just went along with me because I dragged him into it and he had no choice-“

“That’s not true, I wanted to help-“ Harley interjected

“If you want to blame someone, blame me and only me” Peter carried on, aware Pepper was now looking at him intensely, “All of this was my idea, I just didn’t want Harry to have to get up on the stand. He won’t be able to take it.”

Pepper took a deep breath and studied Peter carefully.

“I can understand that” she said as the elevator pinged and Tony walked back into the dining room with Natasha and Rhodey – who both seemed to have been filled in on everything judging by the expressions on their faces – by his side. “And I know in time I’ll be able to see the good in what you’re doing, because you would never hurt anyone, but what I cannot and will not allow is you setting up some poor innocent man for a crime he didn’t commit. A man you seem to have chosen completely at random.”

Peter couldn’t see Harley’s face at that moment but he knew his brother would be cringing and Peter felt something boiling inside of him at the sound of Pepper unknowingly thinking of Skip as an innocent victim. He was anything but. His hand curled into a fist as he watched Tony note Harley’s distress and sit down next to him and Pepper on the floor. Peter wanted to join them but Pepper’s body language gave away her lingering anger with him and he knew that for the moment, he was an outsider in the dynamic.

Maybe he’d been an outsider for the rest of his life now. 

“I have to say, kiddo, that’s the one thing bothering me as well” Tony said as he looked up at Peter and just about managed a smile, “That is very, very un-you. So, what gives?”

Harley pulled his head off of Tony’s shoulder and turned to look at Peter, who felt breathless and like he was going to float.

“You need to” Harley said with a nod.

“I don’t-I can’t” Peter replied shaking his head as tears formed in his eyes.

“Tell them” Harley assured him, “They might be angry but they still love you, they’ll understand. I promise.”

“Boys, you’re scaring us now” Pepper said quietly as she looked between her boys, “Peter, did-did this man do something to you?”

Peter hesitated. Natasha stepped forward and wrapped an arm around his shoulder and pulled him into a side hug.

“I, err-“ Peter could feel the panic attack rising in his chest, “He-when I, before I-before you all found me, Skip-that’s-that’s his name. I-he, well, he-“

“He raped Peter” Harley finished for him and Peter immediately wanted to fall away into a black hole as a shocked and deafening silence filled the room. “When Peter was on the streets, Skip took advantage of him. Made Peter feel like he had someone he could trust and then forced him to have sex, when Peter’s friend Wade found out he burned Skip’s apartment down and went to prison for a year.”

Peter could feel all of the eyes in the room focusing in on him as he shook and stared at the floor, refusing to look up at them and seeing what he knew would be there. Pity. Shame. Embarrassment. Knowing that he’d been lying about something else for the entire time he’d known them would surely only make Pepper hate him more than she already did. A humming like sound began to overwhelm Peter’s ears and he could only briefly make out the sounds of Harley explaining how Skip fit into their plan.

Before Peter knew what was what, he was huddled up in a corner with his knees raised to his chest, sobbing with Tony and Pepper on either side of him. Harley in front, thumb grazing Peter’s knee in a comforting motion as Rhodey and Natasha stood behind them deep in conversation. A kiss to the temple from Pepper brought Peter crashing back into reality.

“I’m sorry” he choked out.

“Don’t be” Pepper said tearfully, “Don’t be, sweetie, none of this is your fault. I’m sorry, Peter, I’m so god damn sorry.”

“Kid, why did you never say anything?” Tony asked, “Why suffer in silence?”

“He wasn’t suffering in silence” Harley answered for Peter and the web slinger made a mental note to thank God for blessing his life with the presence of Harley Keener, “Living here, being with us, feeling so safe…it helped make him forget. He didn’t think about it. He only told me during that bad patch after I first moved in but it was never about suffering in silence. He was recovering until….well, until Skip got an invite to that party.”

“You really feel safe with us?” Tony asked Peter quietly and all he could do was nod in return, feeling like an utter failure, “Oh, Peter, oh baby. We love you.”

“We really love you, Peter” Pepper assured him with another kiss to the head, “Let’s get you to bed, we can talk more tomorrow.”

*

The last place Harley Keener had expected to find himself that night after everything was Central Park at midnight. He wasn’t an idiot, he knew Natasha and Wanda were tracking him from a distance, but he needed some space and some fresh air away from the tower after the harrowing evening they’d all just had. It was like he and Peter had had all of their bravado and deluded self-assurance stripped away from them and had their stupid, idiotic, childish naivety broadcast for all to see. On one hand, it felt invasive. On the other, it was a relief. Harley hadn’t really been sleeping too good with all the worry and knowing that everything was in the hands of people far more capable than him and Peter now was something of a relief.

He was also pleased that Tony and Pepper were finally aware of the full extent of what had happened to Peter when he was living on the streets but the hectic way in which the sequence of events had come about had pushed Harley to the very edge of his sanity. Central Park at midnight probably wasn’t the safest or most sensible place to be, but it was dark enough and large enough for Harley to be able to walk around with his hood up and not get bothered by anyone. 

That was until he saw Eddie Brock and Liz Allen making out on a bunch.

Harley felt something like a knife twist in his stomach at the sight. Eddie Brock was, essentially, the sole reason why Peter had had to come clean in the way he had and the fact that Liz was still dating him despite surely knowing how he’d threatened to fuck over Peter’s life forever when she was meant to be one of his best friends. Hell, the last thing Harley knew Liz was still harboring some not so secret lingering feelings for his brother. 

He didn’t know whether it was adrenaline from the cold, adrenaline from the chaotic night of revelations he was reeling from or the adrenaline from the nip of vodka he’d swigged from one of Happy’s bottles in the kitchen before he’d left, but Harley found himself striding over to Eddie and Liz, determined for a confrontation. 

“Harley, what’re you doing here?” Liz asked, sounding slightly panicked when she registered him striding towards them.

“I live like two minutes away” Harley said testily, “You’re the ones who live in Queens, I should be the one asking you why you’re here at this time of night, surely?”

“Date night!” Eddie said happily, the grin plastered across his face only serving to make Harley angrier with him than he already was. 

“Are you alright?” Liz asked, “You seem kinda…edgy.”

“Stressful night” Harley explained, “Peter told Pepper and Tony everything.”

“Oh” Liz replied, sounding surprised, “Everything? As in?-“

“Yeah, that” Harley confirmed, feeling determined that Eddie Brock would never know that particular part of Peter’s life, “So, yeah, you can imagine-“

“It’s good that he did that, though” Liz said sweetly, “How’s he doing? Tell him I’m proud of him when you get back.”

“Why don’t you tell him yourself?” Harley asked, noticing Liz tense slightly as Eddie draped a protective arm around her shoulder. 

“Oh, Lizzie’s a bit too busy, aren’t you babe?” Eddie answered for her, “There’s a lot on with school and stuff, isn’t there? You don’t really have the time to come all the way over here to see Peter when you could just send him a message”

“Yeah” Liz replied quietly and Harley narrowed his eyes, his need for confrontation dropping but he still felt on edge. Something just wasn’t right. 

“Come now” Harley offered, “I’m sure Peter would appreciate a friendly face he’s not already seen, and we’re only like three minutes away.”

“She’ll miss the last train” Eddie sighed, “Another time, maybe?”

“I was asking Liz not you” Harley snapped, “Why are you even wasting your time with this clown, Liz? Letting him talk for you?”

Eddie smirked. 

“I don’t need to justify my relationship to you, Harley” Liz replied icily, “Maybe you should worry about your brother more than me right now.”

Harley stared down Eddie. He wasn’t stupid, he knew control when he saw it. Hell, he’d lived under it for long enough, and the signs were all there. 

“Maybe you should run home, Harley Boy” Eddie sneered, “Sounds like that brother of yours might need you more than you need to be here, giving us grief for no reason. Peter and Liz are nothing to do with one another anymore”

Harley smirked.

“Is that so?” he asked, taking a step closer to Eddie, the adrenaline and tension he’d felt all evening seemed to be dying to express themselves through an argument with the slimeball. Liz cringed as Eddie took a step towards Harley and mimicked his smirk.

“Peter broke her heart” Eddie snarled.

“That’s not strictly true” Liz interjected quickly but everyone present knew she was lying. 

“Maybe he did, and what does that make you exactly?” Harley shot back, “A rebound? You can’t control who Liz sees and who she doesn’t, even if it is an ex-boyfriend she still has feelings for.”

“Can you both stop talking about like I’m not here?” Liz snapped angrily, “I don’t have feelings for Peter and Eddie, I’ll see my friends whenever and wherever I want to, OK? You have no right to make those kind of decisions for me.”

“I’m just trying to protect you!” Eddie snapped, turning away from Harley to face her, “There are things you don’t know about Peter, Liz. Things that make him dangerous.”

Harley and Liz caught one another’s eyes for a second. Neither knew what was the right move to make. It seemed clear that Eddie had somehow figured out Peter’s secret identity but Harley could not decide whether he should play dumb or call Eddie’s bluff. 

“Peter is the least dangerous person on Earth” Liz said slowly, “And one of the kindest, I’d be in more danger in the middle of Sesame Street than with him.”

“You wouldn’t be saying that if you knew what I know.” Eddie sighed.

“And what exactly do you know about my brother?” Harley asked, having decided that calling Eddie’s bluff was probably his best bet at this point, “Tell me, what do you know about him that’s so dangerous?”

“You know” Eddie said venomously, “I know you know. Everyone in that tower knows he’s Spider-Man.”

Harley smirked as Liz cringed and looked up to the heavens.

“Really?” Harley chuckled, “That’s it? That’s all you got. Peter being Spider-Man? Tell me, how exactly does that make Liz unsafe?”

“He’s a mutant” Eddie spat, “She’s not safe around him, no one is. Not even you. I’ve done my research on Spider-Man, I know what Peter can do, what he’s capable of. What if he loses control? What if he hurts Liz or any of you?”

“He would never” Harley said coldly, “You don’t even know Peter. He’s been Spider-Man for years and he’s never once lost control of his powers. You’re talking out your ass and oh, for your information, Liz knows Peter’s Spider-Man and she’s known for a long ass time and guess what….she doesn’t care, in fact, finding out Peter was Spider-Man was what made her realize she loved him, so-“

“Harley, shut up” Liz snarled, “What has gotten into you? I know you’ve had a stressful night but you’re not normally this….aggressive.”

“Yeah, well, let’s just say that something about your boyfriend rubs me the wrong way” Harley replied coolly. 

“Yeah, well, something about you and your brother rubs me the wrong way” Eddie fired back, “In fact, I have a mind to report you and him to the police, see how much sympathy they give you then. Times are changing Keener, and it’s only a matter of time until your freak of a brother-“

Eddie’s words were cut off by Harley punching him square on the nose and sending him falling to the ground with blood gushing down his face. Liz squealed and knelt down next to Eddie before glancing back at Harley with pure anger in her eyes. 

Harley smirked and turned to walk away. No one called his brother a freak and got away with it. 

*

“Peter-Spider, why are you sad?” Nate’s voice rang out from the doorway of Peter’s bedroom. He’d retired there in order to avoid the inevitable overly emotional, likely night-long conversation about his past. Tony and Pepper both seemed to get the hint when Peter had asked if FRIDAY could potentially temporarily block them from entering his room and had gone to bed on the promise that Peter would fully discuss everything with them the next day. Peter didn’t really want to, but he knew the questions were unavoidable now, and he owed them both answers big time.

Nate, however, could not be deterred. His newly discovered empath powers only seemed to be getting stronger by the day and his desire to help anyone he sensed was in the slightest amount of pain was becoming almost a nuisance. The little boy shuffled over and climbed on to Peter’s bed, crawling towards his elder brother figure and flinging his arms around Peter’s neck. Normally, Peter would deny there was anything wrong with him but it was like Nate could see every fracture on his soul. Lying was pointless. 

“I’m sad because I’ve upset Pepper and Tony” he said softly, “Me and Harley did something bad and we didn’t really think about how it might effect Tony. Knowing I made them sad makes me feel sad.”

“Oh” Nate said before pausing, “They sad too? They seem more worried.”

“Worried?” Peter asked. Nate nodded.

“Yeah, worried” he replied, “Miss Pepper specially. She was worried. I think about you, Peter-Spider. I don’t think she can mad at you and worried at the same time, can she?”

Peter smiled. For all Nate could tune into everyone’s exact feelings, he was still a little kid and therefore lacked some of the understanding of the full range of human emotions that everyone else had. It was like his readings were limited to the most extreme emotion the person was feeling in that moment instead of the many different ones bubbling underneath. 

“Are you hurt, Peter-Spider?” Nate asked innocently.

“Not right now, buddy” Peter replied as Nate detached from around his neck and instead took to laying down next to him in bed, “I was hurt before, a long time ago, and I told Pepper and Tony about it for the first time tonight. That’s why they’re worried now. They think I might still be hurt.”

“Are you?” Nate asked simply once again.

“I don’t know” Peter replied slowly, “I think I’ll always be a little bit hurt by it but that doesn’t mean I feel it all the time.”

Nate shook his head.

“You always sad” he sighed, “I always know, you’re sad most of the time. Sometimes you’re happy, like when you’re with Harley and MJ, but a lot of the time you’re not but you make everyone think you are.”

It was strange, Peter felt like on one hand, Nate was hitting the nail on the head. He was sad a lot, but he hated to think that was how he was coming across to the kid most of the time. He liked to think he was happy now. But maybe it was just all an act? Maybe the past had messed him so much that he’d never truly be happy? Maybe on top of everyone else, Peter had managed to fool himself into thinking he was happy when really he was just….lying.

“So, you only ever know I’m sad?” Peter asked, “Jeez, knowing that kinda makes me sad. Ironic.”

Nate frowned.

“You’re very nice” the little boy said, “I always can tell that too. Sometimes, sometimes I know when people are bad people. I knew it when I was with the bad people before. The ones who hurt me. Even before they hurt me, I could tell they was bad. Not you. You’re always nice. Always.”

“But I don’t always do nice things” Peter replied, eyes stinging a little, “Sometimes I do things that make people really upset. Like tonight, I upset Tony and Pepper.”

“You wanna help” Nate said with a yawn, “You always wanna help. Good person, you’re good, even if you are sad all the time.”

“I want to be happy” Peter sighed, “I try to be.”

“You always happy with Harley and MJ and Miss Pepper and Mr. Tony” Nate said with a smile, “And with me, sometimes. You scared a lot too. Maybe more than you’re sad-“

Nate’s face looked a little puzzled and Peter felt bad for being a little relieved when he remembered that Nate still had a child’s grasp on emotion. It was very likely that he was mistaking Peter’s near constant fear and anxiety for real sadness. 

“What about you?” he asked, “What about you, buddy?”

“I’m scared most of always as well” Nate said, eyes filling with tears, “Even when I’m with the people who make me feel safe, I feel scared.”

“Do you know what of?” Peter asked, squeezing Nate’s little hand in his own.

“People leave” Nate said sadly, “People always leaving me. Mama and Papa. Miss Ellie. Always scared that you gonna leave me. And Harley. And Mr. Tony and Papa Rhodey. What if you go? Makes me-makes me really scared.”

“We’ll never leave you, buddy” a new voice rang out from the doorway. Peter looked up and smiled as a slightly disheveled Harley entered the room and climbed into bed on the other side of Nate, “We love you and we’re not going anywhere. Right, Pete?”

“Of course” Peter assured the kid, “We would never leave you, Nate. You’re our kid brother. I know how you feel, I always used to feel like everyone left me. That it was my fault, somehow, and that made me feel sad and scared as well.”

Nate sighed and snuggled into Harley’s side a little. His and Peter’s bond had grown a lot stronger over the past few months but it was still ultimately Harley that Nate wanted whenever he was feeling upset. Once he knew he was safe in Harley’s arms, Nate drifted off nearly instantaneously. 

“I would both kill and die for him, just so you know” Harley said as he looked down at Nate with pure affection. 

“False, you’re not allowed to die, remember?” Peter chuckled, “I’m worried about him, Harls, he’s turning into everyone’s emotions and I think it’s overwhelming and confusing him. It’s too much for a little kid to be dealing with.”

“Yeah, I’m with you on that one” Harley yawned, “We’ll just have to carry on working on him. Might be worth seeing if Tony can get in touch with that Xavier guy, do some more in-depth studies.”

“Where did you get to?” Peter asked.

“Had a walk around the park” Harley shrugged, “Oh, yeah, I might have socked Liz’s stupid boyfriend one and broken his nose.”

Despite himself, Peter grinned a little.

“He’s a dick” Peter yawned.

“He knows you’re Spider-Man” Harley replied with a sigh.

“Yeah, I figured he might” Peter replied, “What did he have to say about it? I’ve seen his social media, he’s very anti-Mutant.”

“Kind of how I ended up hitting him” Harley shrugged, “He called you a freak. I’m worried, Pete, if he knows that you’re Spider-Man-“

“It doesn’t really make a difference” Peter said softly, “I can still take control of the narrative whether he outs me or not, and besides, he’s only an intern at The Bugle. Jameson might not even know his name. I think if they wanted to say it was me, they’d have done so by now.”

Harley smiled and inched closer to Peter, reaching out for his brother’s hand with the one that was currently holding a now lightly snoring Nate in place.

“Are you a little relieved that Tony and Pepper know everything?” Harley asked, “Cos I am. No matter what happens next, we know they can protect us now. And that’s both of us, Pete, they’re right. You can’t just go throwing yourself to the wolves for the sake of everyone else. You’re needed here.”

Peter nodded. He knew Harley was right. Nate needed him. Them. Together. The kid was struggling so much with adjusting to his powers and as comfortable as he was around Rhodey, Tony and Pepper now it was still Harley and Peter whom the boy eased the most around. Now Peter knew that Nate’s biggest fear was the people he loved leaving him, he knew that throwing himself at the mercy of the law if everything came to light was not an option. He couldn’t leave Nate, he couldn’t leave his family behind, not to mention all he’d be giving up as Spider-Man.

“It’s too late to stop everything” Peter sighed, “But we can still do some damage limitation, and we have some major ass to kiss when it comes to Tony and Pepper now. Cos she was right. Doing this without considering how it could effect Tony was like throwing all of their kindness back in their faces.”

Harley nodded.

“I’m glad you’re not fighting me on this one” he said with a smile, “Harry and MJ will agree as well, though I think Wade and Matt might have their protests-“

“They’ll be fine” Peter reasoned, “And if they’re that upset, well, I’ll just puppy dog eye them. They never could resist those babies.”

Harley smirked.

“I love you, Peter” he said simply.

“I love you, too” Peter replied with a smile.

Nate smiled in his sleep and gripped Peter’s finger with one of his hands. 

“Happy when you happy” the boy murmured in his sleep.

*

**SPIDER-MAN REVEALED: STARK HEIR CONFIRMED AS NEW YORK WEB SLINGING VIGILANTE**

_Shock around the country and indeed the world today as Stark Industries confirm that Peter Parker-Stark, one of the two teenage sons adopted by the enigmatic billionaire last year, is indeed Spider-Man. The internet had been awash with rumors for over a week following the publishing of an article on clickbait site The Daily Bugle suggesting that Spider-Man’s real identity lay amongst the upper classes of New York. In doing so, the Bugle kicked off a hectic week online as many sleuths began trying to piece together the clues of just who Spidey could be._

_They didn’t have to wait long for their answer._

_At 11am on Saturday morning, Stark Industries issued a brief public statement confirming Parker’s identity as the infamous Queens web slinger and asked for Parker’s privacy to be respected. The news has been welcomed with mix reactions. Both Peter and Harley Stark have become the world’s most renown teenagers over the last year and both boast massive followings online and are generally viewed in a favorable manner, for fans of the two, this has been welcome news. Indeed, the vast majority of uses on Twitter and Facebook seemed positive about Spider-Man’s real indemnity and #StandWithSpidey became the most used and longest trending hashtag in Twitter’s history._

_Pundits and the media seem to have taken the news with a little more skepticism. Many have already pointed out the convenient timing of the revelation, which will do little to aid disgraced former Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross’s case to prove he did not sanction the abduction and experimentation of over forty American children last summer. Parker was one of the abducted teenagers and many have now pointed out that his outing of himself as Spider-Man seems to be at least a partly calculated act to prove Ross was fully aware of HYDRA’s intentions for manipulating and developing their own enhanced child soldiers to attack US citizens._

_The basic argument states that Spider-Man’s presence at the sight of the battle which killed Steve Rogers and three other HYDRA agents confirms that he was to be the prototype by which HYDRA was going to manipulate the DNA of the abducted children. Parker has given statements to law enforcement regarding his time in captivity last summer but the details of which have never been made public, it is now easy to understand why. We have it on good faith that many within law enforcement and SHIELD have been aware of Parker’s identity for a long-time and have acted in good faith to keep his identity a secret until such a time he was ready to reveal it._

_Make no mistake, we fully support Spider-Man and believe that Ross is guilty of all charges, but there’s definitely something fishy going on over at Stark HQ. Why has this been revealed now? You really can’t help but wonder if the Spidey revelation is a clever attempt to distract us all from something much more sinister._

_Whatever the truth may be, New York can rest assured that Spidey is here to stay, and that Peter Parker has already done more than enough to be considered one of the twenty-first centuries greatest heroes._

_Let’s just hope the media pressure doesn’t get to the kid._

_*_

Peter sighed as he knocked on the door of No. 23 Crescent Heights. Every instinct in his body was telling him that this was both dangerous and wrong. At the very least, he could have let Harley or MJ know where he was going and what he was doing.

But, nonetheless, his knocks were heard and the door soon opened. Peter felt his breath fall out of his chest as once again came face to face with the worst thing that had ever happened to him.

“What do you want?” Skip Westcott snarled.

“We need to talk” Peter replied icily, “Now, we can either have a very public conversation, or I can come inside. What would you rather?”

“The whole world’s talking about you” Skip said coolly.

“They are” Peter confirmed with a nod, “And if you don’t want them talking about you as well, I suggest you let me inside and say what I want to say. Deal?”

Skip nodded and silently let Peter in.

“Why are you-?”

“It’s not for your benefit, believe me” Peter replied, “But there’s some things you need to know. Life is about to get very messy, and I felt you deserved a little heads up.”

“What do you mean?” Skip asked, as Peter pushed past him and into his living room, “And hey, maybe ask before you-?”

“What? Ask before I what?” Peter snapped, “You never ask before you take, do you?”

Skip sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Is that what you’re here about?” he asked, “Us? What? Now you’re a household name, you really don’t want anyone finding out what a horny little prick tease you really are?”

“You caught me off guard in New Year’s” Peter shot back, “First time I’d seen you since, I didn’t know how to handle it, but I’ve seen you now. And I know you’re just a sad, pathetic excuse for a man. You don’t scare me, Skip, and Tony and Pepper know everything. I told them last night. They know everything you did to me.”

Skip paled and sat down on his sofa, practically falling into it.

“So, if you told, why-?”

“Ain’t they here tearing you limb from limb?” Peter asked, “Cos I made them promise not to, they don’t even know I’m here right now. No one does. Unless I’m being followed, which is of course, entirely possible.”

Somehow, Skip managed to go even whiter. 

“What are you here for then?” he asked.

“Well, mostly, I wanted to see you squirm a little” Peter smirked, “But also, just because they’re not coming for you physically, don’t mean they won’t be gunning for you in other ways. You ever heard of the Raft? From what Tony was saying this morning, they got a room there with your name on it.”

“That’s where they send-“

“Mutants? Monsters? Yeah, you’re right” Peter snarled, “And ain’t you the worst kind of them all, really? I mean, yeah, Wanda and Bruce can be a danger to themselves and others if they lose control but you? No, you’re the worst kind of monster. The one that hides in plain sight. The one that takes vulnerable kids and robs them of what little they had left. If there’s anywhere you deserve to be, it’s the Raft.”

“You can’t prove anything” Skip shouted, “You can’t prove a god damn thing. My word against yours, fuck it, why don’t we battle it out in public? You’ve got more to lose than I have.”

“Exactly” Peter fired back, “Which means I’m going to go ten times as hard. You’re finished, Westcott, there’s no way out now. You’re nothing but a sad old pervert.”

Some semblance of fire seemed to return to Skip’s eyes and he violently reached forward and grabbed a hold of Peter’s arm, twisting the teenager so he was facing him straight on.

“And you’re still nothing more than a little whore from the street” the man spat, “It didn’t have to be this way, you know, you and I. If only you’d-“

“What?” Peter snarled, “Fucking finish that sentence, I dare you. Because we both know exactly how strong I am now, don’t we? The fact I haven’t pummeled you into a million little pieces yet says a lot for my self-control but I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to contain myself if you don’t let go right now.”

Skip seemed to consider his options for a moment but ultimately let Peter go and shoved him away, though Peter managed to maintain his composure and balance. 

“Did you have the powers? When I-?”

“Yes” Peter nodded, “But I was too scared, too weak, to gone to stand up to you then. I’m not now, you’re nothing, you’re less than nothing. You’re a fucking maggot. And like a maggot, I’m going to sit back and watch you squirm. Cos justice is coming, Skip.”

“Like I said before, you can’t prove anything-“

“No, you’re right, I can’t” Peter said calmly, “Which is why I’m not going to try. There are braver people out there than me who might, but I don’t have the energy. I don’t want to go through a whole trial and then watch them find you not guilty. Ruin my reputation. I’m not humiliating myself for you.”

“Then how do you suppose justice is going to be done?” Skip asked, “Stark gonna turn up here and kill me after all?”

“You are not worth killing” Peter spat, “Like I said, Tony and the others are ready to chop you into little pieces, but I’ve made them agree to wait. See justice through another way, because rape isn’t the only crime you’ve committed is it?”

“What do you mean?” Skip asked.

“I know about the false documents” Peter said smugly, “You know, the one’s ‘proving’ Ross’s innocence that you typed up on your computer and handed them over to Jonah Jameson? The one’s he’s planning on publishing next week to discredit me. To get that sick fuck Ross off.”

Skip looked defeated. He lurched forward somewhat and buried his head in his hands.

“How’d you know about those?” he asked.

“How’d you think?” Peter replied, “We both know you ain’t smart enough to write up all those on your own, and we both know you haven’t got the balls. I know you didn’t write them. I know they’re plants, and I know who planted them. And I know how to prove they’re false.”

“You” Skip said simply, “It was you.”

Peter shrugged.

“If you wanna believe that” he said, “I’m not saying anything. But once those documents go public, which they will, we’re going to prove they’re fake. We’re going to prove that you impersonated high level government officials in order to jeopardize maybe the biggest trial in American history, and that’s when I’ll get my justice. Cos I don’t care about how I get it Skip, as long as you’re off the streets, not able to hurt anyone else.”

Skip leaned forward.

“You unimaginable little bastard” he snarled, “What makes you think I’m just going to go along with this, eh? What makes you think I’m going to roll over and be sent to prison for a crime I didn’t commit?”

Peter smirked and leaned forward, so their faces were almost touching.

“Because we both know you’re going to prison” Peter replied, “Maybe you’ll end up in the Raft, maybe you won’t, but you’re going to prison, nonetheless. And what would you rather go to prison for? Being a child rapist or light treason? Treason carries a harsher sentence, but you might avoid a lifetime of being beaten up for being a dirty pervert.”

“And why would you show me such mercy?” Skip asked sardonically.

“Because I’m Peter Parker” Peter replied simply, “And the world expects me to be a good person. To be selfless and to go above and beyond for the welfare of others. And I’m happy to go along with that, I’m happy for that to be my image. I want to do that for people. But the real reason is….I have no other choice. I want you to pay for what you did to me, I want you off the streets, and this is the only way that I can get that to happen.”

“But why tell me now?” Skip asked, “Those papers haven’t even been published yet, you’ve given me the upper hand, I can just call Jameson and-“

“And what? You think you’re going to stop that guy from publishing the biggest story of his career?” Peter smirked, “Cos not only does Jameson stand to earn millions from all of this, he also gets a chance to discredit me and Tony on a national scale. Nothing you can say or do will stop him. Those papers will get published, Skip, and they’ll trace them back to you and then you’ll plead guilty. Because, you know, you’re going to jail either way and I’m giving you the choice of how you go.”

“What if I don’t” Skip reasoned, “What if I fight you?”

“Then I’ll fight you back, and win” Peter said with a shrug, “Not only will I have the power of Tony Stark’s world class legal team behind me, I’ll also have the publics support and the mountain of evidence tracing this all back to you. And only you. No one else.”

Skip’s face fell and Peter couldn’t help but laugh. The guy knew he was done either way. 

“That still doesn’t explain why you’ve told me now?” he practically begged, “Why?”

“Simple” Peter replied quietly, coldly, like how Skip used to speak to him, “Because now I get to sit back and watch you squirm. I get to watch your life fall apart around you and not give a fuck. Because I won’t give a fuck, Skip. You have no idea how much I won’t care.”

Skip stood up and began to pace.

“So much for looking out for the little guy, eh?” he snarled, “Always thought Spidey was meant to have the best interests of every living human in mind.”

Peter got up, dug for his Spider-Man mask and quickly put it over his face. 

“He does” Peter replied, “Spidey will look out for every human. The problem we seem to be having here is that I don’t consider you one of them.”

He pushed the button in the middle of his chest which allowed the Spider-Man to suit to envelope his whole body and smiled once again as Skip fell to the floor, whimpered and backed away. 

“I never wanted it to be this way, Pete” Skip cried, “I always cared for you. I always thought there was something special between us.”

“Don’t even try it” Peter snapped, “If I was so special to you, why did you rape me?”

Skip began to sob as the venom laced in Peter’s words hit him and he was forced to look at himself for what he really was. A man who had raped a defenseless child.

“I’m-I’m sorry” he gasped.

“Fuck your apologies” Peter snarled, “I don’t need you to be sorry. I don’t need anything from you. I have everything I need, and I have it in spite of you. Enjoy what’s left of your pitiful existence, Skip. Now, if you don’t mind, I have an adoring public to go and meet.”

And with that, he left Skip Westcott behind for the last time. He was dust, nothing more. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter centers more around Gwen's connection to Peter and Eddie's continued jealousy. Things are moving fast now.


	7. the first time and the fallout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m not sure I can take much more, Peter” she confessed, “I just need everything to slow down, I need time to find my feet again, adjust to this crazy new reality. Accept that half the world wants to fuck my boyfriend and get over myself.”
> 
> “Don’t talk like that” Peter said sharply, “You’re not being unreasonable or weak here, MJ. I get what you mean. I know the feeling of just wanting things to stop spinning for just a second so you can get used to your surroundings. If I could make the world stop turning for you, I’d do it.”
> 
> MJ chuckled.
> 
> “I’m sure between you, Harley and Tony you could find a way” she smiled, “Not that you should, of course, it would probably unintentionally kill billions.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, so, it's been a bit of a longer gap than I expected between chapters. This is my biggest one yet and I always had an idea of where I wanted it to start and where I wanted it to end, it just took me a while to figure out how to make it all flow. I won't lie to you, I'm not 100% happy with the final product but I simply couldn't wait to post it any longer. 
> 
> A few warnings - Peter Parker is a multi-faceted human being and therefore is flawed. You will not like him at times during this chapter but that is kind of the point. I love stories where Peter is all pure and innocent and good and I've written him that way myself in my two other notable stories, Off The Rails and Into The Unknown, but this universe has Peter a little more rough around the edges. He says and does things in this chapter that might make you mad at him, but he's human and he makes mistakes. 
> 
> Hopefully the next chapter won't take AS long but honestly, no promises. The plot to this is so weavy and complicated I really do have to take my time.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

**the first time and the fallout.**

Peter Parker had never really been one to think through his actions before their unfortunate consequences were spelled out for the world to see. Coming out publicly as Spider-Man had been a means to an end. A way to move his conspiracy against Thaddeus Ross, Jonah Jameson and Skip Westcott to their next level, a move and decision he’d made so quickly that when the fallout inevitably came, it knocked everyone around Peter off of their feet. Truth was, Peter hadn’t taken nearly enough consideration into how much this was going to affect his loved ones before doing what he’d done.

Least of all, he’d failed to take into account the effect all of this would have on the one person whom it would inevitably affect the most. MJ. 

Peter’s girlfriend had always been fairly private. That wasn’t to say that Michelle Jones was any kind of wallflower, far from it, she had never been scared or reluctant to speak up or share her point of view but she had also always hated and shunned away from attention and people she didn’t trust. Now, she was dating one of the most famous and beloved teenagers in the world and suffering immensely for it.

Peter’s coming out as Spider-Man had also flung their once secret relationship into the media spotlight as well. Pepper had tried to warn him of this, and Peter hadn’t listened, but now that he’d used the press to get some attention they had decided it was open season on all things Peter Parker. That meant his relationship with MJ. But it wasn’t him who was getting the flack, it was her.

Comments about her race and appearance were abound online. Girls hating on her because she was the one who got to kiss the new object of their fantasies, Boys objectifying and demeaning her, people saying she didn’t really like Peter and was just out for what she could get from the Starks. Someone at school had even leaked some of her art work which had been cruelly mocked online. For her own safety and sanity, MJ and her mother had been given full SHIELD protection and Pepper had managed to persuade Mrs. Jones to pull her daughter out of school for the time being.

Needless to say, this had caused quite the strain on the young couple. As of Friday afternoon, it had been three days since they’d conversed and Peter was all but convinced it was over. 

Luckily, Peter had managed to get used to being a publicly known figure before the world found out he was Spider-Man. The attention of being one of the attractive teenage adoptee’s of the world’s most famous entrepreneurial couples had made him and Harley one of the whole planet’s most enthusiastically discussed topics already, and adding the fact that Peter was also Spider-Man to that hadn’t really caused much of a change. 

That was probably all about to change, though. That afternoon, Peter heard from Pepper who had it on good information from a reliable source that Jameson and The Daily Bugle were planning on releasing the falsified E-mails that ‘proved’ Thaddeus Ross’s guilt on Sunday. Peter had two more days until his world inevitably exploded again and he was tired. 

“Well, aren’t you quite the dark horse?” the teasing voice of Gwen Stacy rang out behind Peter in the middle of the school hallway the next day. He’d had a little fuss over the week when he’d first come back after the fake leak, but Gwen had been at home poorly and so this was the first time they’d seen one another since, “I should have known you’d had it in you all along, quite the little hero, aren’t we?”

“What do you want, Gwen?” Peter asked, closing his locker, “Because I’ve had pretty much everyone breathing down my neck all week about this. I don’t need you to be as well.”

“Err, I actually just wanted to say my Dad’s got no plans to charge you” Gwen informed her, folding her arms and flinging her blonde hair back, “Said you were quite admirable really. Think he was won over by your efforts in that fire on New Year’s Day. You’ve no need to worry on that score.”

“Great” Peter said, giving her a short smile before walking away. She ran alongside him and linked her arm through his, “Something else I can help you with?”

“No, just fancied walking and talking” Gwen sighed, “Thought I might as well walk my favourite web-slinging vigilante to the subway station. That and we pass a really nice pretzel cart on the way.”

“Didn’t know you were into street cart food” Peter observed.

“Neither did I” Gwen smirked, “But you’re the one who told me to embrace the New York lifestyle when I moved here, it’s all your fault really.”

“Oh yeah, sure, and I’m sure you’ll point the blame firmly my way when you end up having a heart attack due to the amount of grease in your arteries” Peter chuckled.

“Nah, won’t have to” Gwen replied as they headed towards the school gates.

“Why not?” Peter asked.

“Because you’d save me, duh” she said, kissing him on the cheek though Peter swore if he hadn’t just turned his head to the side, she’d have found his lips. “You’re a hero, remember.” 

Peter blushed a little but frowned. He didn’t like how forward Gwen was being with him. He’d known she’d had a crush on him – well, Spider-Man, for a while and felt he had done very little to encourage this but it was somewhat out of his control. Gwen also knew that Peter was dating MJ which made him quietly annoyed with the way she carried herself around him.

“What’re you doing?” he groaned.

“What do you mean?” she asked, fluttering her eyelashes.

“You just kissed me”

“On the cheek” Gwen scoffed, “Oh please, Peter, that’s hardly a big deal. I was just thanking you.”

“For what?!”

“Saving my life….hypothetically”

“You need to stop” Peter told her bluntly, “Don’t think I haven’t heard everyone at school snickering about how we’ve got the hots for each other, MJ’s already freaked out enough about everything that’s happening without adding you to the mix.”

“I’m just being friendly!” Gwen said defensively 

“Yeah, too friendly!” Peter snapped, “You’re way too forward. I don’t need you clinging off of my arm or kissing me on the cheek, I’ve got a girlfriend to do all those things with.”

“And where is she then?” Gwen snapped back, “Cos she’s not here with you, as we speak, is she?”

“Pepper and Tony persuaded her Mom to keep her at home until the media storm dies down” Peter said crossly, “A decision I agree with because she does not deserve the amount of shit she’s getting online just because she’s associated with me.”

Gwen’s face softened a little.

“You’re right” she sighed, “Some of the things they’ve been saying about her online are so gross. She doesn’t deserve that. And whoever leaked and mocked her art work deserves to be flogged in the middle of the street or something.”

“You’re telling me” Peter huffed bitterly. He and Harley had managed to track down the IP address of the computer that had been used to upload the art work to Instagram. It had been a school computer but whoever had done it had managed to do so by using Michelle’s school login details so they were now pretty much lost on finding who it was. Not that finding them would do much good anyway. 

“I’m sorry” Gwen said quickly, “You’re right, I’m being too forward. Just-well, I’ve really been struggling to make friends since I came to New York and you’ve-well, you’re kind of the only one. Guess I just latched on to you, I’m sorry if that made you uncomfortable.”

“It did” Peter said bluntly, “I’m sorry, Gwen, I think you’re a really nice girl and I think we could actually be good friends if that’s what you actually wanted but we both know it’s not. You have a crush on me. I know it, you know it, MJ knows it. And she’s cool. She’s so cool, she’s the coolest girl in the world, but she has limits too.”

Gwen nodded.

“You want me to stay away from you” she nodded, tears stinging in her eyes, “Message received and understood.”

“Hey, I never said that” Peter replied, feeling immediately guilty and rushing forward to stop her leaving as she turned away, “I never said that. I want us to be friends but you need to understand that I can’t have you flirting with me and kissing me on the cheek and all that crap. I love MJ.”

“I know you do” Gwen said sadly, “And I do want to try and be friends, Peter. I do. I’ll-I dunno, I’m sure you’re not that hard to get over.”

“Ask Harley out” Peter suggested, “He’d probably say yes.”

“Not that Harley isn’t hot as holy hell, cos he is” Gwen smirked, “He’s not really my type. Maybe in another universe, another reality, nah, I’d rather find a guy my own pace. I’ll err-head home, maybe our walk to the subway station wasn’t a good idea after all.”

“I am sorry for being harsh” Peter replied quickly, “And blunt, I didn’t mean to be rude but I just needed you to get the message. Fresh start on Monday?”

“You bet” she said, giving him a sad smile. Peter sighed and moved closer towards her, wrapping her up in a quick hug before giving her an awkward wave goodbye. He did feel bad. Peter knew more than anyone the pain and insecurity that came from not knowing anyone or feeling you had any close friends; he knew that Gwen’s attachment to him was born from that rather than her being some scarlet woman intent on breaking him and MJ up.

MJ. He sighed. His plan was to go home and rest before a hectic weekend, he was due out on patrol from six the next morning, but he suddenly felt a massive urge to go and see her.

So, Peter turned on his heels and headed in the direction of MJ’s apartment complex. He texted Harley to say that he would be home later than planned and breathed a sigh of relief, feeling good that he was done with angry issues for the rest of the day. 

Thirty seconds later,….

*

“Miles! Jeez man, you can’t just jump out of trees and ambush people like that!” Peter breathed heavily as his young mentee looked up at him, arms folded, a scowl on his face, “You scared me half to death kiddo.”

“Sorry” Miles shrugged, “Just seemed like the easiest way to actually get your attention, seen as though you’ve avoided me all week.”

“Hey, I’ve been busy” Peter reasoned.

“Yeah, but this time, you’ve been busy with something that actually relates to me” Miles snapped, “I know you got shit going on, Parker, but c’mon. Did you really think I wasn’t owed some kind of warning that you were going to out yourself as Spidey? Seriously? Did you not stop for one second to think how that might affect me?”

The honest answer was no, but Peter wasn’t about to admit that.

“Of course” he lied, “Of course I did, Miles, but I figured-well, does it make that much difference to your life? If anything it helps you, anyone sees you, they just think it’s me!”

“Or, they see two of us and realize that there’s another kid doing the same god damn thing” Miles said angrily, “And people start digging, and they find out it’s me and then my life becomes just as public as yours is now. You might be ready for that, Peter, but I’m not. My family isn’t. We’re normal, I don’t live in a house with sixteen other superheroes who are household names. I’m just me.”

Peter sighed.

“Oh Miles, I’m sorry” he said softly as he put a hand on the younger kid’s now trembling shoulders, “I should have thought about that, I know, but we can protect you. I’ll protect you. Just like I’ll always be here to protect you.”

“I don’t know what’s going on with you, Peter, but something’s changed” Miles squeaked as he looked up at Peter with tears in his eyes, “You’ve changed. After Russia, you promised you’d always be there for me to speak to about things but you just ignore me. I had a really bad patrol last week and I tried to call you seven times and you just never picked up-“

“What? Oh-Oh, Miles, I had to change my phone number because of the press” Peter moaned, feeling incredibly stupid and angry with himself, “I’m so sorry, I should have let you know but I just got so busy and-fuck, why didn’t you just message me”

“Because you always tell me not to!” Miles shouted, “You’ve spent the last six months telling me that if I message you, it makes it that much easier for people to trace shit. I wasn’t going to start doing that when I’m already more paranoid about being outed.”

“Miles, listen” Peter sighed, pulling the younger boy in closer, “You’re not going to get outed as Spider-Man. I wasn’t outed, I told people myself. There’s nothing to relate any of this back to you, unless you’ve told someone and-“

Miles shied away a little.

“You’ve told someone, haven’t you?” Peter said icily, closing his eyes.

“Only Ganke” Miles muttered.

“Ganke? You told Ganke?!” Peter snapped, “What the hell did you do that for? Ganke knowing is one person too many-who the hell even is Ganke anyway?”

“Seriously?” Miles snapped, looking angrier than ever, “Freakin’ seriously? You don’t know Ganke? My best friend?”

Peter shook his head.

“Wow, Ned was right you really do have your head up your own ass these days” Miles said angrily.

“Ned said that?” Peter asked, a little wounded, “I don’t-when the hell did you even talk to him?”

“When he was at Ganke’s house with me on Saturday” Miles shrugged.

“And why was Ned at Ganke’s house?”

“Because….seriously, Parker? Ganke and Ned are cousins” Miles said impatiently, “Do you not pay attention to anything I ever say? I must’ve told you stories about me and Ganke hundreds of times. Why the hell aren’t you listening? I gotta run everything I do as Spider-Man past you but it’s clear you don’t give a shit.”

“I do, I just-“

“D’you know what really gets me?” Miles said coldly, “How when I asked you why you started all this Spider-Man crap in the first place, you told me it was because when you were down and out, you wanted someone there who looked out for the little guy. People like you. I thought that was amazing, you were my absolute hero. I wanted to be just like you but….I don’t wanna be like you anymore. You’ve changed. Guess we should’ve seen it coming, getting adopted by a billionaire is-“

“I’m still me, Miles” Peter snapped.

“Are you?” Miles shot back, “Cos nah, the Peter Parker I looked up to wouldn’t have turned his back on the little guy to focus on stupid conspiracies against Thaddeus Ross, wouldn’t have spent all of his time chasing popular girls like Gwen Stacy and hanging off of Tony Stark’s every word. He’d have been here for us. Now. On the ground.”

“Don’t you get it?” Peter argued, “I’m doing all of this stuff with Ross because I care, because I’m still here for the little guy and always will be. That man took hundreds of kids off our streets, used and messed with them for his own benefit and is probably gonna get away with it because he’s rich and powerful. I’m fighting for you. I’m fighting for all of you.”

“Yeah, you say that now” Miles said venomously, “But once we’re done here, you’re gonna go back to your fancy uptown penthouse with your billionaire parents. You ain’t real anymore, Parker.”

“Queens is my home” a choked Peter replied, stung by Miles’s words, “It needs me.”

“No” Miles snapped, “Queens don’t need Peter Parker, it needs Spider-Man. And it’s got a perfectly good one right here. I ain’t gotta answer to you anymore, Parker. I can’t work for someone that I don’t respect.”

And with that, Miles jumped back into the tree he’d just come down from and webbed away.

*

Peter was like a coiled spring by the time he got to MJ’s apartment. Part of him had wanted, needed, to go after Miles and sort things out but Peter also figured that he was the last person the kid would want to see for a while. Better to just leave it and let them both calm down a little. He’d loaded up on junk food and face masks at the old convenient store down the road before coming over. He hadn’t told her yet, he figured she’d appreciate the surprise gesture. 

From the look on her face as she answered the door, he was right.

“Hey” he said awkwardly on the doorstep, “Long time, no see. Or speak.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that” MJ sighed, “Rough week. Just needed some space. I’m really happy to see you though, just wish you were smiling, I’ve missed those dimples.”

That wrangled a natural grin out of Peter and, sure enough, his cheek dimples shone right through. MJ blushed and led him by the hand into the apartment. They sat down on her sofa and immediately fell back into their default positioning, MJ’s head rested on his shoulder as he put a protective arm around hers, her spare hand falling into his in his lap. 

“I’ve really missed you” she whimpered, “I shouldn’t have shut you out this week, that was a mistake, but things got too intense and I just freaked out. I’m sorry.”

“Hey, unnecessary apologies are my thing” Peter reminded her with a slight laugh, “You have absolutely nothing to feel sorry or bad about. I’m the one who’s sorry. You wouldn’t have been dragged into all of this if I’d just been a bit more considerate, I just got a bit lost in my head.”

“I’m glad it’s all going to be over soon” MJ sighed, “Maybe then we can back to normal and people will stop being so fascinated by two random teenagers from Queens. Only, you’re not just an average teenager from Queens anymore, are you? You’re a superhero and the son of the famous man in the world. They’re never gonna leave us alone.”

“I’m guessing the use of an ‘us’ there means that’s how you still think of us?” Peter asked tentatively 

“Of course” MJ replied with a slight frown, “Why? Did you think that I’d decided there wasn’t an us or something?”

“I had my doubts” Peter admitted, “Not that I would have blamed you. I’ve been a pretty shitty boyfriend lately; I’ve barely paid you any attention. Or the right kind of attention, at least.”

“You’ve not been shitty” MJ said softly, “The situation has been shitty, you’ve been just as decent as you’ve always been. That never changes.”

Peter wanted to tell her so much. Wanted to tell her about his fight with Miles, how the kid’s angry and heartbroken words were still echoing through his every thought, confirming his worst fears that he’d become a different person. Forgotten his routes in the cause of defending them. Had he been neglecting MJ in the same way he had Miles? He’d clearly been neglecting Ned, supposedly his best friend, who wasn’t shying away from his feelings on the matter. He’d have to sort that out as well. 

Was MJ secretly fostering the same resentments? Did she feel abandoned by him as well, had he let her down too? He knew MJ, she wasn’t one to hide her feelings, but looking at her now Peter couldn’t deny that all of this focus had very clearly affected her. She was more withdrawn, second guessing her words and movements in ways she’d always encouraged him not to. She was a mess, and it was all his fault. 

“Sometimes, I think I’m not a good person anymore” he told her, “Look at all the harm I’ve done in this agenda against Ross. Not exactly been good, compassionate, thoughtful Peter Parker, have I?”

MJ took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

“What?” he asked her.

“Peter, I want to make you feel better” she told him, “I want to hold you like I normally do and tell you it’s all in your head but I just don’t have it in me at the moment. Normally, I’m-normally I can do it because I’m always so sure of myself and my words and my stubborn ass certainty that I’m right about everything but I don’t have that at the moment. I could tell you the right words, but I’m not sure I’d believe them.”

And there it was. He had let her down. She didn’t think he was a good person anymore.

“What do you need?” he asked her, “Cos I’m OK, what do you need from me? What do you need to hear? What can I say to make this all better, MJ, just tell me.”

“I don’t know” she cried, “I really don’t. It’s so heavy, Peter. All of it. The amount of people who don’t know me who have just decided that they hate me because I’m with you and they want to be. It’s scary, Peter, I know it must be intense for you but at least people like you. They hate me. For no reason, and I know it’s ironic, hearing this from the girl who always said she hated everyone except you. I just-I’m scared, Peter. Really scared.”

Maybe there was nothing he could say. She was right. He didn’t know what this felt like, all of his reception from the public had been positive. There’d just been a lot of it but there didn’t seem to be anyone who wished him any ill yet a lot of those people were hating MJ in the same sentence for merely existing. 

“We’ve never really spoken about it, cos I didn’t think we’d need to” MJ went on, “But we’re different, Peter. The world sees us in different ways. You’re a conventionally attractive, rich, straight-passing white boy with a heart of gold and I’m the frizzy haired, moody looking black girl who’s obsessed with murder and draws weird art. They were always going to wonder what you were doing with me.”

“Well, fuck them” Peter said angrily, “I’m with you because I love you. So what if you draw some skulls from time to time and you wait on pins for the latest episode of My Favorite Murder. Those women are funny as hell. You’re not weird, I’m proud you’re my girlfriend and maybe-maybe I’ve been too slow to say that in public. Guess I just assumed everyone would just automatically see everything wonderful that I see in you.”

MJ smiled and kissed him on the cheek. 

“Keep talking” she muttered with a slight smile.

“And you’re beautiful” he went on, “You’re the kind of beautiful that stops traffic. Or would, if the world wasn’t such a racist shithole. You’re kind and brave and I don’t think I’d even be alive if it wasn’t for you, MJ. I couldn’t be happier that you’re with me and I’m-I’m gonna stick up for you more. Like I should have been doing all along.”

“I’m not sure I can take much more, Peter” she confessed, “I just need everything to slow down, I need time to find my feet again, adjust to this crazy new reality. Accept that half the world wants to fuck my boyfriend and get over myself.”

“Don’t talk like that” Peter said sharply, “You’re not being unreasonable or weak here, MJ. I get what you mean. I know the feeling of just wanting things to stop spinning for just a second so you can get used to your surroundings. If I could make the world stop turning for you, I’d do it.”

MJ chuckled.

“I’m sure between you, Harley and Tony you could find a way” she smiled, “Not that you should, of course, it would probably unintentionally kill billions.”

Peter laughed out loud.

“Can’t believe I left funny out before” he wheezed, “Seriously, though, whatever you need. I’m here. I would go to the ends of the Earth for you, whether it’s spinning or otherwise.”

“Thanks” MJ said with a smile, “I guess what would help is if you told me that nothing else is going to change. I know that sounds childish and there’s no way in hell you can promise it…but I need to hear it. I need to know there’s no more nasty surprised around the corner, so I can adjust to the ones I’m already having to deal with. So, is there?”

“The story drops in two days” Peter told her, “That’s bad for me, but good for you. Bad cos I’ll be super stressed trying to make sure everything goes right but good for you cos my dating life isn’t going to be up for discussion when the story of the century gets a new twist.”

“OK” she breathed nervously in reply, “Thanks for warning me, I can…I can get my head around that one, I did already know it was coming and you’re sure we’re-“

“You and Harley have been left out of things entirely” he told her firmly, “I’ve covered all bases on that and Matt and Wade are safe too. Tony flew them both out to Mexico the other day, they weren’t happy about it and I’m sure Wade’s tunneling under the borders to get back here as we speak, but it’s for the best.”

“And, what about you?” she asked, “Anything relating to you.”

“Hopefully not” Peter sighed, “I’m willing to take the blame if everything goes to shit but Tony and Rhodey have put plans in place for that. They just won’t tell me exactly what they are. It’ll be fine, I’m sure. It’s a waiting game but it’ll be worth it in the end.”

“That’s good to know” MJ said with a smile, her fingers playing with Peter’s, “But what I wanted to now is if there’s nothing new you’re not telling me, nothing new that might affect….us? I know it sounds paranoid and stupid but I do worry. It’s ironic, really. Us is the thing that’s causing me all this stress but it’s also the only thing getting me through it. I need to know we’re solid, Peter, I need you to be honest and tell me there’s no more little secrets you’re keeping.”

Peter sighed. His brain thumped. _Gwen tried to kiss me. Gwen tried to kiss me. Gwen tried to kiss me._ It seemed obvious that he should tell her, of course it would affect things, but he’d cleared everything up with Gwen and no one else saw so what was the point in upsetting MJ even more? 

“No, there’s nothing” he lied, “I’m all out of secrets. Nada. Zilch. Nothing.”

MJ smiled and rested her head back down on his shoulder and began to play with his hands once again, about two minutes later, she looked up at him and he noticed a visible change in her demeanor. Some spark of the old MJ was back as she smiled at him devilishly and planted a kiss on his lips. He kissed her back. 

“You know, when I said I missed you, I didn’t just meant to talk to” she said playfully, “I’ve really missed being in your arms as well, y’know, you’re so strong. I never feel safer than when I’m in them.”

Peter smiled and kissed her again. 

“Don’t pretend you want this for my sake” he told her quietly, “Don’t do this because you think I need it or that I’m going to get bored of you if you don’t. I’m not like that. I could just sit here with you in contented silence for the rest of eternity if that’s what you want.”

“Sounds appealing, but I also really wanna touch you” she replied as breathless as he now was, “I know we’ve done other stuff, Pete, and I get why you’re hesitant to….y’know, but I want you to know that when you’re ready, I’m ready.”

“Really?” he asked her.

“Of course” MJ said with a smile, “Look, things are so up in the air these days. We don’t know what’s going to happen from one day to the next. If something does happen and we do have to be apart for a while, or even forever, I want you to know that I was fully in this. I wasn’t just going along with the motions; I love you in every way that counts. The same way I know you love me. And that means physical as well as emotional.”

Peter nodded and gulped. It was true. He’d been putting off their first time for a while now, scarred from Skip or just too busy to give her that attention, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to do it with her. He knew that Skip didn’t count. That wasn’t a first time. No, his first time was going to be with MJ and they were going to make it as loving and as beautiful as all the cheesy movies that Harley secretly loved made it out to be. 

“I want this” he whispered, “I want this, now, if you want to.”

“I do, I really do” she whispered back and he pulled her up from the sofa and picked her up, holding her in his arms as she looped her legs around his back and they headed into her bedroom. MJ’s Mom worked night shifts at the same hospital May used to work at on a Friday so the teenagers knew they wouldn’t be disturbed for quite a while. 

MJ’s room was as romantic as someone like MJ, who claimed she abhorred romance, could make it but Peter didn’t care. It wasn’t pink and fluffy. There weren’t scented candles laying around or cheesy love songs playing out from her battered old CD player that he was fairly sure she only kept for the aesthetic, but it was so MJ. It worked. Peter was having sex with Michelle Jones, so it made sense that he’d be having sex in a room filled with skull necklaces and System of a Down posters.

That’s who she was.

And he loved who she was. He always would. MJ was always right about a great many things but she’d never been more right when she’d said they didn’t know what would happen from one day to the next. It was an uncomfortable truth to live with but one Peter was fast starting to realize there was no point in hiding away from. 

“I love you, Peter” she said after as they lay in bed together, her head resting on his bare chest, “I love you so much. You’re my rock.”

“I love you” he replied, “That was….better than I ever thought it would be. Better than I ever could have imagined. You’re….god, you’re beautiful.”

A single tear fell down her cheek and onto her nose. Peter kissed it away.

*

“Something’s different” Harley pointed out the second Peter returned home. He’d cancelled his patrol that morning, not by choice, he’d just spotted Miles out and Spider-Manning before he’d gotten a chance and figured it was better to leave the kid to it, “You’re different. Why are you different? What happened, and why do you have that big goofy grin on your face?”

“No reason” Peter replied, though he was unable to suppress his smile.

“Hang on” Harley said with a cocky grin, climbing off of the barstool he was on, “You do a last minute dirty stop out and then come home with that grin on your face….oh my god, did you and MJ finally do it?!”

“Harley, voice” Peter reminded him, “Pepper and Tony are in the next room and I don’t want them to freak out and go all shrieky parents. Yes, fine, MJ and I had sex for the first-time last night. It was wonderful and lovely and everything it should be and even Gangnam Style coming on shuffle halfway through didn’t ruin it. Happy?”

“Over the moon, my baby boy is all grown up!” Harley exclaimed.

“Harley, you’re still a virgin…”

“Semantics” the taller boy shrugged, “Why does MJ still have Gangnam Style in her music collection?”

“She says for ironic reasons” Peter replied, “I think last night might have proven her right on that one, though, it did kind of help me find my groove-“

“Oh gross, TMI” Harley said, fake gagging.

“You asked” Peter exclaimed. 

“Whatever” Harley mumbled as some of the team entered for breakfast. Bruce and Rhodey headed straight for the coffee pot, Wanda kissed Harley on the temple before stealing a slice of his toast and Natasha shot Peter a wink. 

“How was your first time with MJ?” she asked under her breath as she sat down next to him.

“How’d you-?”

“Oh please, is it really worth even asking at this point?” Nat replied with a wink, “And don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. Yet another one.”

“Don’t tell anyone?” Peter asked.

“As if” Natasha said as she rolled his eyes, “I wouldn’t betray my best friend like that.”

“I’m your best friend?”

“Would you rather be my surrogate nephew?”

“Can’t we just carry on being Peter and Nat?” he asked, “Why we gotta change shit up?”

“Cos you’re a man now” Natasha said fake seriously, “Please let me be in the room when Stark finds out you’ve been de-flowered. His face alone will make thirty odd years of unpleasant existence utterly, utterly worth it. The universe has conspired to give me this moment.”

“And it’s about to take it away” Harley chimed in, “Cos I’ll be the one telling Dad, not you.”

“No one’s telling Tony” Peter insisted.

“No one’s telling Tony what?” Wanda asked as she sat herself back down next to Harley, now armed with her own breakfast. Bruce and Rhodey had also now migrated to the table. 

“Nothing”

“Me and Cowboy Beep-Bop here are arguing over who’s going to be the one who gets to tell Tony that Peter lost his virginity to MJ last night” Natasha said bluntly.

“Nat!”

“Huh, maybe if you’d agreed to be my best friend, you wouldn’t be having this problem” she said coyly as Bruce and Rhodey both recovered from having spurted their coffee out when Natasha told Wanda what Peter had been up to.

“Oh, I gotta be here for this” Rhodey said gleefully, “Tones is gonna freak. I can’t wait.”

“No one’s going to be telling Tony anything” Peter insisted, “This is mine and MJ’s business and I think it’s gross how certain people are just broadcasting it like it’s got anything to do with them. Yes, big deal, me and MJ had sex, can we move on now?!”

“Were you safe?” asked Bruce as Harley laughed.

“Oh my god, yes, of course were safe” Peter snapped, “The last thing we need on top of everything else is a baby! Can you even imagine, you saw my attempt at changing Morgan’s diaper the other week. The poor kid wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“Sorry, Pete” Natasha said honestly, “I’m just happy for you. It’s just nice to know that after all you’ve been through, you’re in a relationship where you feel safe enough to do that.”

“Just keep it schtum from Tony, I don’t want-“

“Tony already knows” Pepper said casually as she walked into the kitchen, kissed Peter on the cheek and then made her way to the fridge, “Harley had F.R.I.D.A.Y live feed the kitchen into our bedroom after that Morgan hot sauce incident the other week. He’s heard everything.”

“How is he?” Peter asked.

“Clutching Morgan and asking where time went and how he got so old” Pepper shrugged, “Which is dumb considering he’s only known you for two years, but whatever. I’m happy you and MJ took the next step and you were safe. That’s all a mother can ask for.”

“See guys” Peter said proudly as Pepper came back and draped her arms around his neck, “That is what we call a sane and rational reaction to news like this. Thanks, Pep.”  
  
Pepper smiled and kissed him on the cheek again. “I’ve laid out some condoms and pamphlets on sexual and reproductive health on your bed, honey.” Laughter engulfed the kitchen once again.

*

Good things never lasted very long. Peter had spent most of his morning in a euphoric haze and had got himself very comfortable with Harley and Nate in Harley’s bedroom watching Frozen II in the afternoon when the initial Twitter notification dings sounded out on the teenagers phones. Harley initially ignored his but Peter, ever curious, took a look at his and was horrified to see that he and Gwen Stacy were now a trending topic online.

Someone, somewhere, had taken a picture of Gwen’s kiss to Peter’s cheek and then their subsequent hug yesterday afternoon. The pictures had been circulating online for only ten minutes but had already amassed over half a million likes and retweets. Peter felt whatever weight he had left in the pit of his stomach crash out as he scrolled through Twitter and saw that everyone in the world now seemed convinced that there was something going on between him and Gwen. 

“Oh god, oh shit, oh no” he announced, standing up so quickly he could feel his head rush. Harley, who had by now checked his own phone, also stood up in the same state of panic.

“Shit Pete, what the hell?!” he asked, “Why were you and Gwen kissing?”

“We weren’t!” Peter exclaimed, “She kissed me on the cheek, I told her to stop and then I felt bad cos she nearly cried so hugged her. This isn’t what it looks like.”

“What’s going on?” Nate asked, “Is Petey in trouble?”

“I’d say so” Harley muttered reading as more and more Tweets came through, “Holy crap Peter, the actual news are picking up on this. They’re calling you a love rat!”

Peter groaned and hid his face in his hands. He wanted to call MJ and get ahead of the game but he knew that she would have already seen them by now. Fuck. He’d lied to her, he’d told her there was nothing coming that would change things even more for them and less than a day later, all of the Internet was talking about how Peter Parker had cheated on his girlfriend with some mysterious blonde. 

“What do we do?” Peter asked Harley hopelessly.

“Got to Pepper now and get her to stop this before it gets any bigger” Harley insisted, “She probably already knows, she might already be on it. I’m sure it’ll be fine, Pete. No one who actually knows you could ever believe that you’d cheat on MJ. Not one person.”

“I hope you’re right” Peter muttered as the boys set off and ran towards Pepper’s office. They entered it to find Tony and Pepper hutched over a computer screen looking as stressed out as Peter was feeling. Tony, who hadn’t actually seen Peter yet, looked at him and merely sighed.

“My but your talent for getting yourself in trouble is unmatched, young man” he said witheringly as Peter approached Pepper’s desk.

“Can you get on this?” he asked, “I need MJ not to-“

“What do you expect me to do, Peter?” Pepper asked a little snappishly, “Turn back time and stop you from kissing Gwen Stacy behind your girlfriend’s back? I’ve got more important things to focus on in the next twenty-four hours than you cheating on your girlfriend.”

“I didn’t cheat on MJ!” Peter exclaimed, “Gwen kissed me on the cheek, once. I told her I wasn’t interested and then we had one freakin’ hug. That was it. I need people to know that.”

“People will” Harley insisted.

“Will they, cos they’re not” Tony said sharply, “People, TZM, E!, USA Today. Just to name a few national corporations who have already re-tweeted and reported this to their millions of followers. I can’t put toothpaste back in the tube, Pete. But d’you realize what else is going on here, d’you realize what this has done? What it’s going to do?”

Peter was about to ask what Tony meant when he heard MJ’s voice ring out behind him. She’d bumped into Rhodey and aggressively asked him where she could find Peter. She sounded angry. Peter turned around and was faced with the image of a livid, heartbroken looking MJ striding into Pepper’s office with her very unimpressed looking mother and Betty Brant behind her. 

Initially, Peter felt relieved. It seemed like the first thing that MJ had done on seeing the pictures was immediately come to the tower to hear him out. That relief only lasted seconds though as MJ’s palm harshly collided with Peter’s cheek and she screamed out “LIAR” after slapping him hard across the face. Peter stumbled back a little form the force and clutched his cheek, Harley being the only thing that stopped him from toppling over a cheek.

“MJ, I can explain-“ he tried. 

“I don’t wanna hear it” she screamed, tears flowing from her eyes, “After everything I said to you last night, and then…this, the first thing I see this morning when I wake up is a picture of you and her? Together? Like that, what the fuck, Peter?”

“MJ, it’s what it looks like, I swear” he pleaded, “Gwen-“

“I don’t want to know Peter!” MJ shouted, “I told you, I asked you to tell me if there was anything else to know last night and you lied to me.”

“I’m sorry” Peter said tearfully, “I didn’t want to lie but you were upset and I knew this would only make things worse so I chose not to tell you. I didn’t think you’d ever find out; I didn’t even realize me and Gwen were being watched-“

“All I am hearing” MJ said angrily as she took a step towards Peter, “Is that you knew that you had something to hide, something you knew was going to hurt me, and you chose to keep it from me. Despite everything. Despite me putting my heart on the line and asking you, begging you to tell me that there were no other nasty little surprises in store. And then you let me sit there and tell you how wonderful you are, how safe you make me feel, how you’re my rock. That’s cold, Peter. I don’t even know who you are anymore.”

And with that, MJ turned on her heel and left Pepper’s office. Peter took a look back at his family, all of whom read different facial expressions, before wiping a few tears away from his eyes and running to catch up with his girlfriend.

“MJ!”

“Stay away from me!”

“MJ, I-“

“What is there to say, Peter?” she screamed once again, hair whipping Peter’s face as she turned around to face him, “Not only did you let another girl kiss you and then lie about it, you come back to my apartment and have sex with me. D’you know how that makes me feel? Do you? Like you used me.”

“I didn’t, I swear” Peter said desperately, “Last night was the most amazing night of my life-“

“Yeah, cos you got it on with two girls” Betty interjected. Peter ignored her. 

“It meant the world to me” he continued to tell her, “The only reason I never told you about Gwen was because I didn’t want to upset you. I know that was wrong but I told Gwen, I told her that nothing could happen between us because I love you. I want you and only you. I would never cheat on you, you must know that, don’t throw all of this away just because-“

“I know you didn’t cheat on me” MJ replied icily, “That’s not what the issue is here, can’t you see that, can’t you get that though your thick brain Mr. Genius? It’s not about Gwen, not really, or the fact that she kissed you or didn’t kiss you or whatever your story is. It’s about the fact that all this proves is that Ned and Miles and all the others are right. I can’t trust you anymore.”

“What are you saying?” Peter asked.

“I’m saying that you should add lying to your list of powers” she said, “You lie with such ease. It scares me. And before, I could live with it. All the stuff with Ross and your secret identity, I knew you were lying for the right reasons but now…knowing that you can look me in the eyes and lie to my face and I can’t even tell…how can I be in a relationship with someone like that?”

“MJ, look, just-“

“You just don’t get it do you” MJ cried, “Did you even listen to what I said yesterday? About how people talk about me online, have you even considered what they’re saying now? ‘Oh, finally, Peter Parker’s with someone who deserves him’? Cos we both know what the means don’t we? Peter Parker’s finally found himself a pretty white girl to be with. Someone who everyone approves of. Not nasty, freaky MJ with her frizzy hair and her-“

“I told you yesterday I don’t care about all that!” Peter shouted.

“But you still let it happen though!” MJ shouted back, “You still let me wake up and have to read those kind of comments after everything I said to you yesterday. You couldn’t even give me the basic respect of telling me the truth. I can’t be with you, Peter. Not like this. Not anymore. I love you; I’ll always love you, but I can’t be with you. I can’t be with someone I don’t trust.”

Peter had often heard about heartbreak when it came to first love. May had been very philosophical about the topic when she was alive. But he’d never expected it to be physical but as MJ stepped into the elevator, flanked by her mother, Peter felt his heart literally shatter in two and fell to the ground. The tears came not long after and Peter was reduced to nothing more than a sobbing wreck on the floor.

“You’ve really hurt her, Peter” Betty’s voice came through the clouds, “I know you’re not a bad guy, I know you don’t lie or cheat for fun, but you really need to sort your head up. Ned won’t even mention your name anymore, he can’t remember the last time you even spoke to him. Now look at what’s happened with MJ. Just…Peter, for everyone’s sakes, start paying attention to the people around you who actually matter. Let Thaddeus Ross go. He doesn’t deserve another moment of anyone’s time and whilst you’re wrecking your life and everyone else’s trying to get him, he’s still winning. Prison or not.”

Betty left once she’d finished but Peter couldn’t take her advice onboard. The article was due out tomorrow. The wheels were in motion, it was too late to stop, all he’d wanted had been to protect his friends and his family and his girlfriend but it seemed like all he’d done was destroy them himself in the process.

*

Harley ended up scooping Peter off of the floor and bringing him back into the living space. Wordlessly, Peter was sat down on a sofa and given a drink of water. He blinked and looked up to find all of the Avengers, plus Harley and Nate, were staring him down in the room.

“MJ gone then?” Bruce asked. Peter nodded.

“It’s over” he breathed.

“I’m sorry kid” Rhodey replied. Peter looked to Tony and Pepper and felt his heart ache once again when neither could quite bring themselves to look at him.

“You may as well tell me what’s happened” Peter shuddered, “Get it all over with now. How much more bad news can one day have?”

“Oh, there’s no more actual news” Tony snapped, “No, this fuck up’s big enough on it’s own, kid. You know, if you and Harley hadn’t come barging into Pepper’s office I was only about thirty seconds away from having F.R.I.D.A.Y fetch you for me. We need to have a talk kid. A serious one.”

Peter frowned, surely he wasn’t about to have a celibacy lecture from Tony Stark of all people.”

“I’m sorry” Peter said immediately, “I know how those pictures look but I didn’t cheat on MJ. The guy who took them just caught me and Gwen in two unfortunate moments. I bet his camera roll is full of pictures of me telling her not to touch me like that anymore.”

Tony sighed and closed his eyes. He sat down directly across from Peter.

“You’re not getting this” he sighed, though there were flashes of anger in his voice, “Pete, open your eyes, you dragged us into this impossible situation. Ross. Jameson. False e-mails. The fact every single person in this room could go down for treason. You dragged us into this and we all went along with it because you said everything hinged on the public being able to trust you-“

“I don’t follow” Peter said meekly.

“Peter, sweetheart, look at the damage this has done” Pepper said, her tone was softer than Tony’s but Peter could tell that she was furious as well, “Is this the kind of behaviour that’s going to make the American public think they can trust you? You’ve already lied to them about being Spider-Man and now this? All some people are going to see you as now is some playboy who messes around with different girls.”

It hit Peter like a ton of bricks. Of course. As far as some members of the public were concerned, now, when Peter came forward and took the stand and expected the whole world to believe Thaddeus Ross’s guilt, they wouldn’t be able to. Because he lied. Peter lied and cheated and how could they really trust some kid who can’t even stay faithful to his girlfriend? 

He knew all this, but he still needed to defend himself. He couldn’t let it all fall apart just because of one giant misunderstanding. 

“Why should it affect the trial?” Peter snapped, “All we need to do is have Ross change his plea to innocent because he thinks the fake evidence will get him off. That’s all. Once he’s done that, the trial opens up and we can get him properly. It doesn’t matter if the public believes us, it matters if we can present the best case to the courts and have Ross found guilty. I only did this to spare Harry having to go on the stand and end up revealing all the shady crap you guys have done. No, I’m not the bad guy here and I don’t deserve to be treated as one.”

“Peter, that’s not the point” Natasha sighed, “It was naïve of you to think that Harry wouldn’t get called to be a witness just because Ross changed his plea.”

“Of course I knew that” Peter snapped, “That’s why I came out as Spider-Man. Now, we have less to hide. Now, they can’t ask Harry as many leading questions about all of this crap. They know why Ross kidnapped me now. To get enhanced DNA. C’mon, we’ve been through this! If Ross feels he has nothing left to lose, he’ll take us all down with him. If we give him hope – the false e-mails – he’ll fight for his freedom and he’ll-“

“Peter, for fuck sake, stop!” Tony yelled, “Have you heard yourself lately? This isn’t the Peter that we all know and love. It’s all conspiracy and plotting and lies. We’re all banking on you being able to pull this off and after today, I just don’t know if you can anymore. What you did with Gwen? Reckless, Peter, reckless. Doesn’t exactly give us all faith that you’ve thought everything through. How did you not notice you were being spied on, Mr. Enhanced senses?”

Anger shot through Peter.

“You know why” he said venomously, “You know exactly why. Because Norman Osborne took my powers away and I’m still getting used to having them back. My Spidey-Sense is nowhere near where it should be. I can’t hear every little thing anymore.”

“Look, why don’t we all take a breathe and calm down” Bruce suggested.

“No” Peter protested, “For whatever reason, you’ve all decided that it’s open season on me. So go on, who’s next to make a dig? It is crap on Peter day after all.”

“Bruce is right” Tony said calmly as he stood up, “We need to all take a break and come back together when everything is a little less raw.”

“Oh really?” Peter snapped, “Or are we all just running away from the truth?”

“And what’s that?” Natasha asked.

“That you all failed” Peter said coldly, “That the mighty Avengers weren’t able to stop kids being abducted from right under their noses and experimented on. That when it was all over, the only person pushing for justice was one of those kids himself. Everything I’ve done, I did to protect us and make sure that scumbag gets what’s coming to him.”

“Yeah, and fuck the rest of us along the way” Tony snapped, turning to face Peter with equal amounts of venom in his voice, Pepper leaned forward to grab his arm but he yanked it away, “You know, Pete, one of my favourite things about you was always how you reminded me of the good parts of myself. The genius intellect, the desire to use that intellect to help others but more and more I’m seeing a side to you that reminds me of the me I didn’t like too much.”

Peter smirked and looked at the ground. He hated conflict. He really did. But being on the streets had taught him one thing. You had to match your bark with your bite, and when Peter was backed into a corner, going for the jugular came all too naturally. He took a step close to Tony.

“Only there’s one difference isn’t there?” he said icily, “I’m not actually whorring myself around to any woman or man who’ll have me. I’m not actually abusing every known substance under the sun and losing an entire decade’s worth of memories to-“

“Stop talking” Tony warned him.

“I’m not using my parents deaths as an excuse to treat the people close to me like shit” Peter went on, pointing his finger in Tony’s face and pretending like he didn’t have to stand on his tiptoes to do so.

“I’m warning you” Tony said through gritted teeth. There was an uncomfortable, ugly silence surrounding Peter and Tony as they circled one another. Pepper was tense, standing with her hand pressed to her mouth. Harley was shaking but trying his best to comfort a crying Nate. Natasha was stood, ready, for whatever was about to happen. Bruce had had to excuse himself from the room and Rhodey stood behind Tony, ever his best friend’s protector. 

But Peter didn’t care. 

It was time to go in for the kill.

“And I’m not building weapons that are being used to kill little kids in the Middle East” he spat at Tony, who’s eyes went wild and his fists launched themselves towards Peter. The more nubile and athletic of the two managed to dodge them and Tony nearly fell to the floor with the weight of his miss as Peter back flipped across the room and landed on the other side of Natasha who turned on him.

“What has happened to you?” she asked, “Where’s the Peter from this morning who was laughing and joking around with the rest of us.”

Peter smirked.

“He was a fool” he said, “That Peter thought he had family here. People who understood and who loved him unconditionally. He was a fool because he’d let himself believe that was actually true. But I see how things are now. You’re all only happy with me when I’m sweetness and light. Little Peter sunshine. You can’t handle it when I fuck up, you’re not even willing to give me a chance.”

“Peter, stop this” Harley pleaded walking towards his brother, “It doesn’t have to be this way. We can still fix this.”

Peter took one look at Tony, still crumpled on the floor, humiliated and searching for the strength both physically and emotionally to pull himself up and carry on the fight. Peter had no desire to hurt Tony anymore than he already had done. That would be overkill. 

“I’m sorry Harley, but this is it” Peter said bluntly, “I’ve done everything to protect what we have here and I’ve just had it all thrown back in my face. None of what happened today makes a god damn difference to Ross’s trial and you all know it. You’ve all just been looking for a chance to get rid of me and you finally found one.”

“That’s not true” Harley said, shaking, “That’s not true. I love you, Peter. You’re my brother, and we promised we’d always stick together.”

“They were just words, Harley” Peter sighed, “I’m sorry. Tony…I know you’re a good man now, I know you want to protect your family, I’m sorry for all the pain and worry I’ve caused you. But you don’t have to worry about me anymore. I’ll pack my bags and go.”

“What?” Harley asked, looking desperately between his father and his brother, “No, Dad, please. Tell Peter he doesn’t have to leave. Please. Tell him.”

“I can’t” Tony said weakly from the ground, “If he wants to leave, I’m not going to stop him.”

*

“Peter, please don’t do this-“

“Get out of my way, Harley”

“No! I’m not moving. I’m not moving until you agree to stay and talk to Tony.”

Peter sighed.

“Harley, we both know how easy it would be for me to just move you” he snapped, “Now get out of the way or I will move you out of it myself.”

“You’re being ridiculous” Harley pleased as he followed Peter out of his bedroom, “You and Tony, you’re too similar. Too passionate. Your hearts are worn too much on your sleeve. You don’t have to do this, please don’t break our family apart because of one stupid fight.”

“I’ve said too much” Peter said shortly, “I can’t take back some of the things that I said in there and to be honest, I don’t want to. Who are they, who are any of them to condemn me after some of the things they’ve done? You tell me that.”

“No one’s perfect” Harley said, “And neither are you. C’mon, you knew how far you were pushing yourself with all of this and you carried on anyway. You’re too stubborn to admit when you’re in over your head.”

“Wasn’t just me though was it?” Peter snapped, rounding on Harley, “You and MJ were right there with me. Giving me advice, encouraging me to go through with everything, helping me track down Wade and Matt. You know, Tony may be a coward and hypocrite but at least he’s got the guts to actually get involved. What are you, Harley? Some glorified cheerleader, just happy to go along from the ride?”

Peter was expecting Harley’s face to crumple into sobs as it normally did when he was hurt but for the first time, Peter witnessed anger flash through his brother’s facial expression.

“MJ’s right, I don’t know you anymore” he said weakly, “You’ve changed, maybe it’s my fault, I shouldn’t have encouraged what you were doing with Ross but yeah, you’re different. I never knew you could be this nasty.”

“Look at my life, Harley” Peter sighed, “Look at everything that’s happened to me. Do you really think I’d still be here, standing, today if I didn’t have this in me? When you kick the crap out of someone for seventeen years, don’t be surprised when they’re capable of biting back. You think I’m all sunshine and light and trauma? You don’t know me at all.”

“Clearly” Harley said with a nod, “And I know what you think of us. Of me. You’ve made that pretty clear, maybe it’s better if you go. Maybe you were never meant to be a part of this family after all. Maybe you are too fucked up for all of this.”

“Nice to know how you really feel” Peter said with a nod, fighting back tears because he really, really didn’t want to lose Harley. He didn’t want to lose Harley. Not really.

“Where will you go?” Harley asked.

“To people who understand me” Peter answered. 

*

“Are you an idiot?” Harry snapped as he and Peter sat on the edge of his bed playing video games, a bowl of Doritos sandwiched between them, “You’ve just thrown away your entire family, Pete. What the hell?”

“The only family I have is sat on this bed with me” Peter replied, putting extra effort into killing a zombie on the game, “Stark was never going to last forever.”

“That why he adopted you?” Harry asked, “Seems like a forever type of thing to me.”

“Parents are fleeting things, Harry, we should both know that by now” Peter said with a shrug, “I’m much better off here, with people who understand me. You. Sam and Bucky. Actual outcasts.”

“Sam and Bucky ain’t even said it’s OK you’re staying yet” Harry reminded him, “I mean, I’m sure they will, but you should probably make some contingency plans for if they don’t”

“Kind of burned every bridge I had over the last few days” Peter sighed, “Can’t go to MJ anymore, I broke her heart and she’s the one person who I’ve argued with today that I’ve still got some respect for. I deserved everything she said to me, and worse. The others? Ned’s mad at me, Miles is mad at me, Betty’s mad at me….you get the pattern.”

“Gwen Stacy might give you house room” Harry smirked.

“After I dragged her name through the global press, I don’t think so” Peter replied, “Even if she did, I doubt her Dad’s gonna let me rock up with my two pitiful duffle bags and demand housing. I suppose I could always go back to the streets, seems rather fitting at the moment.”

“That’s not funny” Harry said as he switched off the game, “Peter, I know you’re putting a brave and stoic face on all of this, but it’s OK to admit that you’re upset. That you feel you’ve been let down again, I sure as shit won’t judge you.”

“And that is why I’m here” Peter replied, “You, Bucky and Sam. I know that you guys aren’t gonna judge me, like the others. Even Harley. That one stung.”

“I’m sorry” Harry replied, “I know you guys had gotten really close. I just think…fuck, Peter. I really hope you haven’t actually burned your bridges with Stark forever. He was good for you. Him and Pepper, they saved you. Think what your life would be if they hadn’t found you. Don’t forget that.”

Peter sighed. This was all on him, he knew that. He was an ungrateful little shit. Pepper and Tony had damn saved his life when they took him in and all he’d repaid them with was two years’ worth of grief and bringing up mistakes Tony had made twenty years ago to hurt him. No, Peter hadn’t burned his bridges with the Starks, the more he calmed down the more he was realizing what a massive mistake he’d just made. But he was sure they’d have burned their bridges with him now. They had to have. There was no forgiving some of the things that Peter had said.

But it hurt less to pretend like he was the one making the decisions. Him abandoning them was easier for Peter to accept than being abandoned again. Even if he did deserve it. 

“This is gonna sound dumb” Peter muttered. Harry sat up and paid attention, “Just, after a hard day, I sometimes-would you mind….giving me a hug?”

Fuck, Peter had never felt so pathetic. Luckily, Harry’s features softened and a smile bloomed across his handsome face.

“Oh come here, you freakin’ idiot” he said with a chuckle as he pulled Peter into a bone crushing hug and laughed, “You might as well stay here now. Sam and Bucky can’t say no if I’ve already said yes and unpacked your stuff into the wardrobe.”

Peter smiled.

“Thanks Haz, you’re the best” he yawned, his exhaustion finally catching up with him.

He woke a few hours later to find Harry gone, his bedroom door slightly opened and hushed voices coming from the living room. Peter rubbed his eyes, groaned, and walked himself into the living space where he found Bucky, Harry and Sam gathered around what was presumably meant to be their dining table but was clearly just an old air hockey one. 

Sam stood up when he saw Peter enter.

“Kid, you look like shit” he said bluntly as Peter came over, “Look, I’ve been on the phone to Stark and told him that you’re gonna stay with us until everything’s calmed down.”

“OK” Peter replied, “Thank you. Err, how was he?”

“I won’t lie to you, kid, not great” Sam said with a huff, “I think you left quite a hysterical scene behind you when you walked out that tower. Harley. Nate. Meltdown central. And I think Bruce has had to take himself off to the compound for everyone’s safety.”

“Oh” Peter said quietly, he’d never intended to hurt Bruce of all god damn people, “Did…did Tony at least ask how I am?”

“Well, he wanted to know if you were dead or not” Bucky chimed in, “That’s gotta count for something right?”

“I wish Steve was here” Peter confessed.

“I do too” Sam said sadly, “If only for the fact he’d have beat your scrawny ass for saying all those things to Tony before things got out of hand.”

“Would you have blamed him?” Peter asked.

“You dealt a low blow, kid” Sam said honestly, “A real low blow. I didn’t think you were capable of saying something like that but…yeah, I’d have stopped him. You have every right to say how you feel, express how you feel. Even if it does hurt others sometimes.”

“But I don’t think I even meant it” Peter moaned, “They-it felt like they were all ganging up on me and I went into defensive mode. I just wanted to hurt Tony and I went to the thing I know that he’s most ashamed of. He’ll never forgive me for that.”

“Kid, I shot his parents point blank in the head” Bucky pointed out, “And I’ve been invited to Thanksgiving and Christmas the last two years in a row. Tony Stark’s capacity for forgiveness is remarkable.”

“Yeah, I’m sure he just needs time” Harry said with a smile, “Until then, I think you should just make the most of living here with us. It’s Bucky’s turn to order the takeout food tonight!”

Peter smiled, despite the weight of guilt in his stomach.

*

“You didn’t have to come with me” Peter said to Harry as the two waited, shivering in hoodies, in the middle of Central Park at midnight. Peter had received an anonymous message on his cell about an hour earlier asking him to meet in Central Park once it was fully closed. Peter wanted to ignore the message, it had been quite a day, but something compelled him to go. Harry had insisted on tagging along, saying he wanted to know whatever juicy gossip it was, but Peter could tell his cousin was worried about him being alone and appreciated the concern. It was more than he deserved.

“Shut up, I wanted to” Harry replied, “Besides, Bucky and Sam were four beers in and it always gets weepy when they’re four beers in.”

“You see like you really like living there” Peter noted, “So much more relaxed and together than I’ve seen you for ages, it’s nice. I’m happy for you.”

“Bucky and Sam they’re amazing” Harry said with a grin, “I mean, if you ever tell them I’ve said this, they’ll tease me until the end of time and I’ll beat your ass but they really are the big brothers I wish I’d always had. So much life experience. Even if most of the advice Bucky can give me is how to hold up under prolonged brainwashing, but you never know..”

Peter smirked. 

“Do they ever talk about Steve, much?” Peter asked, “I just noticed the atmosphere changed a bit when I brought him up before.”

“Not to me” Harry shrugged, “Think they might to one another though. They’re very….close.”

“Oh” Peter replied, then cottoned on to the subtext, “Ahhh….I see.”

“Yeah” Harry said with a nod, “Funny how grief bonds people.”

“I can’t decide if I think it’s kinda weird or kinda hot” Peter smirked. “Actually, no, I think I’ve decided on hot. They are two handsome, handsome men.”

“Ewww, Peter gross, those are my Dad’s” Harry joked and Peter genuinely laughed. 

The night air was cold and Peter couldn’t help but think of MJ. He knew where she’d be. At home. He just wondered what she was doing. He kept feeling like calling her and begging for another chance but it was way too soon and she’d been way too heartbroken and steadfast in her desire not to be with Peter anymore for him to bother her. He just felt so guilty. It had been a day for guilt and bad decisions. His mind drifted to the tower and to Harley and Nate.

They’d fallen into quite a nice pattern of taking it in turns to read Nate his bedtime story and, rather embarrassingly, sing the kid a lullaby. Peter loved Nate. He loved him so much, he was the little brother Peter had always wanted and his bones ached to be away from the kid now. He was also aware of how in tune with other people’s emotions Nate was and he knew the argument that afternoon would have been very overwhelming for the poor kid.

And then, there was Harley. 

Peter knew that what he’d said to Harley had been unforgiveable but he also knew that Harley was never very good at letting toxic people go. He still pined for his mother from time to time and Peter knew that if he went around to the tower tomorrow and threw himself to the ground, begging for Harley’s mercy than he would receive it. But he couldn’t do that. Harley had to get better at letting people who hurt him go and unfortunately, Peter was now one of those people.

“Don’t get too lost in your head” Harry murmured under his breath, “I think our visitors here.”

Peter looked up and spotted a shadowy figure lurking underneath a lamp post. Feeling safe in the knowledge that he was fully suited up under his hoodie, Peter cautiously took a few steps forward as the figure lit up a cigar and began to smoke it.

“Don’t come any closer” his raspy voice said, “It’s better you don’t learn who I am.”

“OK” Peter replied, glancing back at Harry who just looked confused, “What do you want? And how did you get a hold of my cell number?”

“Easy when you know how, as I’m sure you’re well aware Mr. Parker” the man replied, “You’re quite the sleuth yourself when you want to be, ain’t cha? I have to say, I’ve been quite impressed by your work in the Thaddeus Ross case.”

Peter hesitated.

“How do you know about that?” he asked, borderline horrified. Someone else knew. How? Had someone talked? 

“Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me” the stranger replied, “It’s part of why I’m here, actually. You’ve done some good work, Parker, but there’s more to be done. You’ve only just started to scratch the surface when it comes to the crimes that Thaddeus Ross, Alexander Pierce and Norman Osborne were responsible for.”

Peter heard Harry’s horrified gasp at the mention of his father’s name but had to chose to ignore it, there would be time for that later.

“What do you mean?” Peter asked, “What else have they been hiding? Who are you anyway? Why should I trust what you say when you won’t even show me your face.”

“It’s better you don’t know” the man repeated, “I’m high up in both SHIELD and the administrative office, let’s just say that. My work is primarily in international relations and crime. Human trafficking. Am I putting it all together for you?”

A dark, grim and ugly part of Peter already knew to what the man was referring but needed clarification. He was now very well aware of Harry’s presence and the horror that must have been slowly dawning on his cousin as well. 

“When you mean human trafficking, you don’t just mean enhanced kids like me, do you?” Peter asked.

“I’m afraid not” the figure replied, “It’s an open secret in Washington. Everybody knows, but nobody says, there’s been action to reveal Ross’s true nature for years but no one’s ever had the guts to do anything about it. Until you, Mr. Parker.”

“Wait” Harry interjected, “Are you telling me that my father was involved in-in…selling kids as sex slaves? Is that what you’re telling me?”

“I don’t know for sure if your father knew the full extent, Mr. Osborn” the man replied, “But I have hard concrete evidence of Ross’s guilt, evidence I will be sending on to you in the next few days. Keep a very close watch on your mail.”

“And what do you want us to do with it?” Peter asked. 

“That’s up to you” came the reply of the stranger, “I trust you will make the right decision, Mr. Parker. You have given me no reason to believe you won’t act in the best moral interest. That’s why I’m here now, that’s why I’m entrusting you with this job. People are suffering around the world because of Ross’s crimes, Mr. Parker, even whilst he awaits an inevitable jail sentence. You’re the key to stomping out this run of darkness.”

The man seemingly just vanished after that. Peter turned to a horrified Harry who was fighting back tears and an anxiety attack and took his hands.

“Holy fuck” Peter breathed, “This thing goes right to the top.”

“I know” Harry replied, “What’re we gonna do? If you come forward with that kind of a document, they might be able to trace the E-mail leaks back to you.”

“But Ross will still go to jail for the rest of his life” Peter said, disgust evident in his voice, “But do I trust the word of some shady guy who wouldn’t even show us his face.”

“Well, you need to make you mind up” Harry told him, “Because if it’s true and if it’s still happening now then there are still people suffering.”

“I’ll find out the truth” Peter said determinedly 

“How?” Harry asked.

Peter took a deep breath. He really couldn’t believe what he was considering. He was pretty good at spotting out liars himself but he knew two people who would definitely be able to tell; the problem was they both lived in Stark Tower.

Nate and Wanda.

Wanda was pretty much capable of reading minds and Peter knew that she could see into people’s minds and memories. He wasn’t sure to what extent she’d be able to do that in a prison visiting room without revealing her identity but Nate….Nate was so in tune with people’s emotions, so aware of everything that wasn’t going on even if he didn’t understand it but….

No, how could Peter even consider this? Was this not what everyone had been mad at him for earlier? Only thinking of his plans and conspiracies and not of his friends and families welfare? Maybe he hadn’t fully burned his bridges with Harley yet but he was sure he would if his brother found out he’d been taking advantage of Nate’s powers like that.

But he had to do something, he couldn’t let Ross get away with human trafficking. The secretary of State for the country was involved in child sexual slavery, Peter couldn’t ignore that and if it meant the rest of the Avengers hating him for the rest of his life, maybe that was a price he was willing to pay. 

At the very least, he could ask.

As he looked up at Stark Tower, Peter couldn’t see Tony but he knew damn well the man would have been sitting on the roof thinking as he always did when he was upset. He wondered if Tony could make him out from up there.

“I’m sorry Dad” Peter said to himself, “But I need to do this. I really hope one day you can understand and find it in your heart to forgive me.”

“He will” Harry replied, “I know what you’re thinking and he will, Tony will understand.”

“I hope so” Peter sighed, “So, first things first, we need to figure out how to get me in to see the most high-profile prisoner in the US without being detected. And then how to do so if with Wanda and Nate with me.”

Harry smiled.

“I’ll say one thing for you, Pete” he said with a grin, “Life’s never boring when you’re about.”

Peter turned to him and sighed.

“I can’t pretend this is the life I wanted” he said sadly, “But this is the life I’ve got, might as well make the most of it. Lets get home, get some rest and then tomorrow – we begin planning.”

And maybe, just maybe, somewhere along the line – Peter could work on getting things back on track with MJ. 


	8. reparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It’s nice she cares” Peter said wistfully, “I want to sort this out with them, Harley. I want to come home and be a family again. I miss everyone too much and I’ve really liked spending time with Bucky, Harry and Sam but-“
> 
> “But they’re gross and smelly?” Harley asked.
> 
> “Well, it’s definitely not as clean” Peter smirked, “What I was actually gonna say is that I find Bucky and Sam too attractive to live with. It’s distracting. Sam walked around in a towel for like three hours yesterday morning and I felt more breathless than I did in Russia. I can’t live there permanently. They’re too hot, especially now Bucky’s had his hair cut-“
> 
> “Wait, what?” Harley asked, “How…how does he look with it?”
> 
> “Oh, he’s gone from like an eleven out of ten to a straight…maybe thirteen” Peter chuckled, “It’s obscene.”
> 
> “It’s what Steve would have wanted” Harley smirked as he looked to the heavens, causing Peter to laugh out loud.
> 
> “I’ve fucking missed you” he wheezed, “Even if it was barely two days. Fuck-“

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually meant for this chapter to be a bit longer but then I looked at 11.8k words and thought I better stop. Oops. 
> 
> Oh well, enjoy!

reparations.

** EXCLUSIVE: NEWLY LEAKED E-MAILS MAY PROVE INNOCENCE OF SECRETARY ROSS. **

_In yet another shocking development in what has been dubbed the ‘story of the century’ leaked E-mails from the hard drive of Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross’s Government computer have cast doubt over the accused secretary’s guilt in the upcoming Mutant Trafficking trials. In August of last year, it came to light that General Ross in lieu with SHIELD director Alexander Pierce and high-profile New York businessman Norman Osborn had been heading up a plot to experiment on American children, some as young as four years old, in order to aid once dormant terrorist agency HYDRA. Following the revelations, it was confirmed that Pierce and Osborn had been undercover HYDRA agents for their entire careers and had both committed numerous acts of treason against the nation undetected for nearly a quarter of a century._

_Ross was never linked to HYDRA directly however the fact that he was found in the custody of The Avengers when they stormed a HYDRA based in a remote Russian forest a few miles outside of the city of Yakutsk seemingly proved his guilt. Ross was arrested and denied bail before his trial but has always denied guilt and attempted to distance himself from the accusations, stating he was merely a fall man for Osborne and Pierce. Both men were killed in the skirmish which also claimed the life of Steve Rogers a.k.a Captain America and culminated in the release of over fifty abducted and missing children. Ross maintained that he had no connection to the crimes and that The Avengers had made a grave error in arresting him before he was able to defend his actions._

_Whilst Tony Stark’s adoptive son Peter Parker – recently revealed to be the real identity of New York based vigilante Spider-Man – was amongst the abducted, many felt that The Avengers acted within good practice by placing Ross under their arrest prior to the involvement of the US Government. Another blow to Ross’s reputation came from the president, who dismissed him from his position with immediate effect and readily distanced himself and the rest of his office from the crimes. Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff both gave statements to the investigating officials in September stating they believed that Ross had knowingly acted and aided the abduction of American children in order to aid Osborn and Ross but could not say for sure whether Ross knew the actions were directly linked to HYDRA and biological testing._

_Ross’s case grew even bleaker when leaked footage of him and several HYDRA soldiers attempting to abduct – amongst others – Tony and Pepper Stark’s other adoptive son Harley Keener came to public light in November. Many believed Ross would change his plea to guilty at this point however with doubt over whether the footage’s reliability could be ascertained however he has maintained his innocence and stated, through a lawyer, that he believed The Avengers were leading a conspiracy against him as revenge for his pushing of the Sokovia Accords back in 2016. The accords lead to a brief rift in The Avengers, particularly between Steve Rogers and Tony Stark, however the two managed to forge an agreement and the accords were thrown out of court in 2017. Ross’s lawyers allege now that Tony Stark and his team conspired to get revenge on Ross for this, an accusation at present that no member of The Avengers nor anyone associated to them have commented on._

_Now, however, Ross’s innocence may be proven thanks to E-mails leaked to New York publication The Daily Bugle earlier this month. Whilst the paper has only published snippets of the correspondence between Ross, Osborne and Pierce, what has been leaked certainly casts doubts over whether Ross was aware of what he was signing off. It is alleged, due to the E-mails, that Ross was lied to by Osborne and that he believed he was merely signing off on Osborne’s company OS-CORP approaching the families of specifically identified teenagers to potentially be experimented on with parental consent. Whilst many will no doubt feel that this was an action that could not be justified, it is not in fact illegal. The Mutants Recognition act of 2005 would allow for the scientific experimentation of any consenting American for the safety of the American public in drastic circumstances. Given that these E-mail messages were only sent to General Ross following the bombing of Stark Tower by HYDRA – claiming the life of the 17-year old best friend of Osborne’s son Harry – it could well be decided that Ross believed he was signing off on something that, for however wrong some may believe it is, is not illegal. If this evidence is to be believed, then Ross could be spared a life in prison._

_The Mutants Recognition Act was brought forward in 2005 by Dr. Charles Xavier who has, himself, expressed shame over some of its contents. Many feel that we have come to a place in society when Mutants don’t need to be merely recognized but protected under the law. Mutants Rights Activists have pointed to the services of enhanced individuals such as Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner and Wanda Maximoff with The Avengers initiative. Acting SHIELD head Nick Fury made a statement last night stating he doesn’t believe in the validity of these E-mails and will be conducting his own research into their source. Admittedly, the E-mails being leaked through The Daily Bugle – a paper famed for its anti-Mutant slant – does raise some suspicion as to whether they are real or at the very least trustworthy. In a change from their usual routines, it is believed The Avengers will be making a public statement regarding the leaked E-mails this afternoon. There has yet to be any response from Thaddeus Ross or any of his legal representatives._

“WHAT DID PETER AND HARLEY DO?!” Nick Fury demanded as he slammed the copy of The Herald down on Pepper’s office desk, “WHY WAS I NOT INFORMED THAT ANY OF THIS WAS HAPPENING? Y’ALL HAVE BEEN LEADING A GOD DAMN CONSPIRACY AND YOU DIDN’T THINK THAT I NEEDED TO BE IN THE KNOW.”

“OK, first off, don’t shout at my wife” Tony replied testily, “Secondly, the kids only told us when the documents were already falsified and sent out. We couldn’t stop if we wanted to-“

“But I could have” Fury said passionately, “I could have put a stop to any of this shit before it got out of hand, Stark. And you didn’t even give SHIELD a heads up, you let us go out on our ass and say that we don’t believe the E-mails. I wanna get those scumbags as much as you, we could have been a major asset to Peter’s stupid agenda.”

“We appreciate that, Nick” Pepper sighed, “But it was too risky. The less people who knew the better and believe me, we’re not wild about getting dragged into this. Peter has acted incredibly recklessly.”

“You’re damn right he has” Fury growled, “Where is he anyway? I know he can hear me with those damn enhanced ears of his.”

Pepper and Tony shared an uneasy look.

“Peter’s not living here at the moment” Pepper said calmly, “We decided it was best all around if everyone took some time to cool down after all of this blew up last week.”

“Where is he?!” Fury snapped.

“He’s staying with family” Tony said bitterly. Fury squinted.

“The damn Osborne kid?” Fury asked, “Which means to say that you’ve let him go and live Wilson and an ex-HYDRA soldier who’s still fighting his own brainwashing?! Have you both taken leave of your senses. The only reason I didn’t throw Parker’s ass in the RAFT years ago was because you told me you’d be a safe and consistent home for an enhanced teenager with nowhere else to go.”

“And we are” Pepper assured him, “We fully plan on Peter living back here when everything has calmed down and we’ve each given sufficient apologies. As it stands, neither Peter or Tony are currently ready to make that move, they’re both very stubborn”

“I’m not being stubborn” Tony snapped, “The kid is free to come back when he wants, he doesn’t even need to apologize to me, he just needs to understand that whilst he lives under our roof, he does things our way. Clearly, he’s more inclined to enjoy the non-structured chaos of living with those two morons.”

“That’s a little unfair” Pepper replied, “By all accounts, Sam and Bucky have proven themselves to be fantastic and steady guardians for Harry these last few months. I’m sure even you can agree with that, director. You thought Harry was going to end up being much more of a problem than he’s turned out to be and that’s down to them. I have no worries about Peter’s welfare whilst he’s with them, and Sam is providing me with daily updates. Peter’s eating and sleeping, he’s training with Bucky when he can and his school attendance hasn’t slipped. When he’s ready to come back, we’ll be here with open arms.”

Tony huffed and Fury almost smirked. 

“So that’s tweedled dee, what about tweedled dumb?” he asked, “Harley does need to be aware of how reckless his actions have been as well, surely?”

“Oh, conspiracy against the Government is taken very seriously in this house” Tony snarkily replied, “I have confiscated his X-Box for a month and stopped his budding online romance with that curly haired kid from the High School Musical show. He’s learned his lesson.”

Pepper rolled her eyes.

“No one punishes Harley better than Harley” she sighed, “I didn’t see the need to add any weight to what he was already doing to himself. We’re trying to help Harley realize that it’s OK to be kind to yourself sometimes, he knows he acted foolishly and he’s apologized. That’s enough for us, no need to belabor the point.”

“But it’s a different rule for Parker?” Fury asked, raising his eyebrows, “Keener gets a slap on the wrist but Parker gets cast out on his ear. Double standards.”

“Are you questioning our parenting skills, director?” Tony mockingly asked.

“Yes” Fury replied bluntly, “Look, I’m no expert on these kind of things Stark, but seems to me you should treat your kids the same. Take me with Hill and Carter. If they fucked up, I’d give them the same treatment. I wouldn’t tell Sharon she made a mistake and then make Maria get my bagel on her way into the office every day for a month. I’d get them both to do it. That way, they both learn their lessons, there are no accusations of favoritism, everyone’s happy and I get two bagels. Understand?”

“It’s a bit more complicated than that, director” Pepper sighed.

“How so?” Fury asked.

“Well, we might be willing to accept Peter back with warm and loving arms-“ Pepper began.

“But the kid refuses to speak to us” Tony interjected sharply, “But, hey, what’re you gonna do?”

“Get your head out your ass and fix it?” Fury suggested before standing up, “Listen, SHIELD will play ball with all of this crazy scheme. I’ll say our investigations proved the E-mails haven’t been falsified in anyway. Parker’s long game is only going to pay off if we’re all willing to play ball and seems to me, he’s right, the most important thing here is that Ross doesn’t get another second of freedom for the rest of his sorry life.”

Pepper nodded. Tony rolled his eyes and sighed. He was hurt, Fury knew that, and when Stark was hurt he always went into asshole mode. He just needed to be pulled out of it, and Fury had an idea as to how. 

*

Peter’s mind hadn’t stopped racing since his and Harry’s meeting with the mysterious, shadowy figure the other night. It was Monday now and Peter had spent pretty much all of the previous day researching Thaddeus Ross’s history to see if he could find any reasonable traces of the accusations against him. It hadn’t been a total waste of time; Peter had managed to find at least six occasions over the last three years where Ross had taken “unexpected leave” from the Government and flown to Russia. Peter suspected that the majority of the poor children who had been trafficked into sexual slavery had probably been done so through their. Less of a risk for Ross. The man’s evidence had yet to come from through the post and Peter was still racking his brains as to how to see Ross without blowing every bit of cover known to man, at this point he wanted to confront the man and tell him with a piece of shit he thought he was as much as he wanted to grill the guy for evidence.

The e-mail story broke. Peter was surprised by how much of a non-reaction he had to it, the rest of the world seemed to be blowing up about it, but he guessed that was to be expected when he knew what was coming. And Jameson had delivered as Peter had expected him to. His article on the E-mails had been full of anti-Peter, anti-Stark, anti-Mutant crap that would hopefully rub people up the wrong way and make them want to see Ross as a guilty party again. Peter knew it was only a matter of time until they could prove the E-mails were fake. He just needed to wait for Ross to strike. 

That morning found Peter gathered around the breakfast table with Bucky, Harry and Sam. It was surprising that for all the apartment looked entirely chaotic, Sam had actually put a lot in place to make life as ordinary and structured for Harry as he could. They ate every meal together, talked about their days and Harry had to complete all his sent home school work and was kept to a surprisingly strict rule about doing an exercise routine and getting out of the house at least once a day. Sam, of course, dressed up this blatant concern for Harry as “not wanting to have to take care of some punk ass kid” but everyone could see how fond of Harry he’d become. It was nice, and Peter was happy for his cousin. It reminded him of the bond between him and Tony, but Peter didn’t like to focus on that because thinking of losing his adoptive father made him feel too sad. 

Bucky was less hands on, he had his own shit to deal with after all, but it was clear that he cared a great deal for Harry as well. Peter noticed how Bucky was always watching Harry in moments where the boy didn’t notice, silently watching over him almost as if he was daring the world to mess with the kid again and then unleash hell when it did. Harry, for his part, slotted in well and seemed to be making an earnest effort to get better. Peter was pleased that he seemed to be embracing his new life, and his cousin managed to flaw Peter that morning.

“I know you’re probably shitting it over going into school, what with being the talk of the whole world again” Harry said over breakfast, “So, I’ve decided that I’m going to come back with you today. It’s time I got back anyway and I want to be there for you.”

“Are you sure?” Peter asked, a little breathlessly, “You know you’ll have just as many, if not more, eyes on you than I will, right? The king returning to his court and all that.”

“Oh, I’m sure I’ll have been dethroned by now” Harry smirked, “Brad Davis has been circling like a shark for years, just waiting for the chance to strike.”

Peter smiled, not wanting to be the one to tell his cousin that his predictions about Brad Davis were entirely true. The kid had been insufferable since school started up again. Though, he had been messing around with Cindy Moon from Academic Decathlon of all god damn people which was just _weird._

“Are you sure this is the best idea, kiddo?” Sam asked, his voice casual but his concern evident and Peter couldn’t help but smile, “Peter’s right, it’s gonna be all eyes on you and I know you’ve been doing so well but I don’t want this to set you back if you jump in too quickly.”

“But he’ll never know unless he tries” Bucky interjected, “Look at how much going to Steve’s memorial helped me. Confronting the thing that was affecting me the most head on really helped. Showed me that I can get through it and come out the other side. I think this might be a good for him.”

“Err, I’m also 18 and can make my own decisions” Harry pointed out, but it was clear he was seriously considering both points of view and wanted both Bucky and Sam to be happy about his decision. After a lifetime of having every little decision made for him by his father, Peter appreciated how all of this might be strange and a little bit overwhelming for Harry. 

“There’s no wrong decision, kid” Sam said, “We’re just looking out for you. If you want to go back to school today, you have my complete support. I’ll call the school once we’re done.”

“Thanks Sam, I think I’m gonna do it” Harry smiled, “It’s my senior year, I actually want to try and enjoy it whilst I still can. There’s not much time left.”

Peter nodded at his cousin as a rather loud knock came from the apartment door. Everyone quickly put their fingers to their noses and shouted, “not it”. As the loser, Bucky sighed and made his way to the door whilst Peter reached over and took an apple from the fruit bowl. He was eating it when he heard the unmistakable voice of Nick Fury ask where he was.

“In your boxers at this time on a Monday morning, Barnes?” Fury asked, “I see your catching up on being a slob.”

“Nice to see you too director” Bucky sighed as he lead Fury into the living room, “Parker, Captain Hook’s here to see you.”

“He was missing a hand not an eye, Buck” Sam noted.

“Ahh, damn it, there’s so much to catch up on” Bucky sighed, “Any who, I’m going to go and put some clothes on…”

Bucky left as Harry and Peter smirked. 

“Y’all will teach him about appropriate dress, I hope?” Fury sighed, “It’s one thing to be secretly harboring an ex-HYDRA agent but a nearly nude ex-HYDRA agent…”

“Are you kidding?” asked Sam, “Have you seen that ass?”

“Wait, are you both-?”

“Yeah” Harry, Peter and Sam answered at the same time, in very different tones. Peter’s was amusement, Harry’s was vague annoyance and Sam’s was dream like. Fury sighed.

“Idiots, I’m surrounded by idiots” he sighed, “Luckily, Wilson, I don’t care enough about your ass or his to intervene here. Just don’t come crying to me if and when this sex thing or whatever blows up in your face-Parker, I swear to _God_ get that smirk off of your face…”

Peter couldn’t help but smirk. Partly because Fury generally made him very nervous and on edge and he couldn’t help but express his nerves in that way, but mostly because a bigger part of him just naturally wanted to fight against borderline oppressive authority and Fury was the dictionary definition. Harry smirked too but stopped the second Fury’s icy glare fell on him. 

“Sorry” Peter wheezed.

“Wilson, I haven’t got any authority over you and Barnes. Do what you gotta do.” Fury said before turning his attention turned to Peter (“Oh, I plan to” Sam said in the meantime, smirking to himself as he drank from his coffee mug), “You on the other hand, I am pretty much the only thing standing between your self-sacrificing ass and a lengthy sentence on the Raft….so speak.”

“I’m guessing you know about the E-mails?” Peter winced.

“Of course I know about the E-mails” Fury snapped, “The whole damn world is talking about those E-mails, my issue is that I only found out what you were planning _to-day_. What the hell were you thinking? You do know what could happen if all of this doesn’t go exactly as planned?!”

Sam and Harry both looked from Peter to Fury over and over again.

“Of course I do!” Peter said emphatically, “I’ve thought of pretty much nothing else but that, and I’m guessing you’re here on Pepper and Tony’s orders? To shout and talk some sense into me. Well, sorry Director, but there’s nothing you can say to me that I’ve already said to myself. I’ve already lost my home, my girlfriend and my family over this. I might lose my freedom. Isn’t that enough?”

Peter stopped his tirade as Fury held one finger up. The older man sighed and sat Peter back down by gently guiding him down with a hand on every shoulder. He looked at Peter, his expression serious but somehow more human and empathetic than he’d ever seen the intimidating man look before. 

“Listen up, Parker” the man sighed, “We’ve known one another for years now and I might not like you most of the time – in fact, your smart-ass responses and devil may care attitude give me headaches and cause my eye-patch to ache with rage but y’know what, I got respect for you. You’re a survivor. You give and you give and life just takes, but you never let it get you down for long. You always bounce back, resilient as ever. I respect the hell out of it. You could have just chose to live a comfortable life with your billionaire parents for the rest of your existence, but you’re still putting your ass on the line. I respect that. And I will defend you and help you to the best I can, but I need to know why, I need to know why you did this..”

Peter felt a little exposed under the man’s glare and was positively shocked at learning that Fury respected him that much. He blushed a little and took a moment to gain his composure, very aware that his answer was likely to change things with Harry and Sam as well, both of whom were staring at him with intense looks. Bucky re-emerged, now clothed, and looked confused. Peter took a deep breath and decided to look straight at the one person in the room who already knew. 

“I did it for him” Peter said, surprised at how choked he already sounded, “Harry. I-I knew that if Ross’s trial go to the point where he had no hope, he’d get nasty. I knew he’d tear Harry apart on the witness stand and make him-make him say things about us, about the Avengers. Ross knows Harry was the one that killed Norman and I was worried his defense would make Harry confess on the stand and then he’d go to prison and suffer more for something that wasn’t his fault-“

“Peter, stop” Harry said almost pleadingly, “Just-just, they don’t need to hear all of this….”

“I’m sorry!” Peter shouted, jumping back out of his chair, “OK, I’m sorry! All I wanted was to stop my new life from falling apart and it’s all fucked up. I just wanted to keep everyone safe!”

“Peter, kid” Sam said with a heavy sigh as he made his way over to Peter and placed his hands-on Peter’s shoulders.

“I’m sorry” he said, “I’m sorry, I’ve let everyone down and-“

He was stopped in his tracks by Sam pulling him into a bone crushing hug. It almost knocked Peter off of his feet.

“You did all this for Harry” Sam sighed, “All of it, to keep him safe?”

“Yeah, I guess” Peter said, he was shaking, “I…I just wanted to keep him safe. I just wanted to keep everyone safe.”

“I still don’t get why” Harry interjected, “After everything I did to you-“

“Because he’s got more damn heart than sense” Fury said with a sigh as he stood up. Sam released Peter from the hug and turned him back to face Fury. “Nice motives, Parker. Admirable, too. Like I said before, SHIELD will be behind you all the way. Whatever you need.”

“Thanks, but why?” asked Peter.

“Because we agree on the same fundamental ideas, Parker” Fury said, “Ross deserves to go to prison for a long, long time for what he’s done to you and to others. And I agree that we oughta try our best to keep Osborn safe. Kids suffered enough.”

“So, you’re not here on Tony and Pepper’s say?” Bucky asked, “Didn’t they even wanna know how he is?”

“Oh, they do” Fury replied, “But it’s not my place to fix your domestic issues. All I can say is, like Stark, you need to get your head out your ass and stop being so damn stubborn.”

Peter rolled his eyes.

Truthfully, Pepper and Tony had played on his mind a lot since he’d left. He kept hearing what he said to Tony over and over again in his head and he hated himself for being so cruel. Tony didn’t deserve that after everything he’d done for him. Peter missed Tony and Pepper’s love and affection to his core, but he didn’t see any way back for them after all he’d said. 

Going back wasn’t an option, at least not for now. Peter was too embarrassed. If that came across as him having his head up his own ass, so be it. 

“Not to mention Harley and Nate” Harry chimed in, “I know you miss them as well.”

Peter glared at Harry who grinned back at him.

“What?” his cousin asked with a smile, that old charisma coming back in a flash, “You’ve committed treason to keep me safe, I think I’m allowed to point out that you’re missing your brothers and you want to go back to them. Jeez, this is a two-way street, y’know?”

“Well, this has been emotional enough” Fury said with an awkward cough, “Parker, I’ll be in touch, and I’ll leave Hill and Carter’s numbers just in case you need a direct line to me. Good work with this kid, even if I don’t appreciate it coming as a shock. Talk to Stark. I think he needs it, and you’re less of a stubborn asshole then him. Osborne. Wilson, Barnes enjoy….one another…”

Fury left after that; Peter couldn’t help but grin. Harry rested a firm hand on his shoulder. 

“Don’t think I don’t appreciate what you’re doing for me” he said softly, “But please don’t sacrifice the rest of your new family for my sake, make it up with them. You have so much to lose, Pete.”

*

Harry and Peter both sighed as they pulled up to school in Sam’s car. Nervous for different reasons, the boys both stared up at the school. Sam turned around and rolled his eyes.

“You two are as bad as one another” he said, “Honestly, I’ll drive your asses back to the apartment right now if that’s what you want. No pressure.”

“We’re fine” Peter squeaked, “Totally fine”

“Yeah, all cool” Harry said before an audible gulp, “We’ll be fine, Sam, I promise. And if we’re not, I’ll call you right away.”

“That’s…yeah, that’s a plan” Sam replied, eyeing Peter – who was nearly smirking – in a warning manner as Harry grabbed his bag and got out of the car, “Not one word, Parker.”

“You’re such a Dad.” Peter teased him

“Oh touché, after the way you and Stark carried on for two years” Sam smirked, “Fury’s right, you need to get your head out your ass and make up with him. I don’t want you in my home for any longer than is absolutely necessary.”

“Yeah, yeah” Peter said as he rolled his eyes, “You love me.”

“And that is the only reason why I’m not kicking your ass” Sam smirked, “Now, go kick some ass, be your resilient self and keep an eye on my boy and yes, he is my boy. But if you tell anyone, I won’t hesitate to actually kiss your ass.”

Peter smirked and got out of the car. He was somewhat surprised to see that Harry had waited, seemingly a little anxiously, for him at the front of the school steps. Sam honked his horn as he drove away and both boys have him a wave just as Peter caught up with Harry. It was strange that less than a year ago, Harry was just some borderline douchey popular kid in the grade above Peter who was called Darren and he had basically nothing to do with. Fast forward twelve months, and the boys were one another’s last remaining blood relatives and living together to boot. 

“Why did Sam want to talk to you?” he asked as they started up the steps and into the school, “Was it about me?”

“What? No, why would you think that?” Peter asked.

“He wasn’t like – I dunno, moaning about me, was he?” Harry asked nervously, “I’ve crashed at their place for so long, I just figure they’re bound to get sick of me mooching eventually.”

Peter stopped Harry in his tracks. 

“OK, first off, you’re not mooching” Peter assured his cousin, “Bucky and Sam took you in and let you stay because they care about you. You’re chipping in for rent, it’s not mooching just because you’re the youngest and they parent you a bit. Which brings me on to point number two, they totally fucking love you and just want the best for you.”

Harry nodded.

“Sorry, it’s hard not to have doubts sometimes” he sighed, “My whole world turned upside down so quickly, sometimes I have to catch my breath and remember all that’s happened. It feels like nothing is guaranteed anymore.”

“Well, you’re talking to the King of that” Peter reminded him, only a little bitterly, “I used to have those kind of doubts all the time when I first moved in with Tony and Pepper and now-now, well, it’s different but it’s the same thing, kind of-“

“You haven’t ruined it, Peter” Harry said with a kind smile, “Like Bucky said the other night, if Tony can understand and look past his parents being murdered in the way they were and see that Bucky wasn’t his right self at the time, then he can forgive you for some insensitive comments about the way he used to act. It ain’t even like you were that far off.”

Peter sighed. He got the comparison but Bucky, as a person, had never meant all that much to Tony. In fact, he had been nothing to Tony until the man found out he’d killed his parents. They’d been able to build from there because Bucky hadn’t done what Peter had – allowed Tony to accept him into his heart, to love him and then just throw it all back in his face. No, the real comparison was with Steve – who had betrayed Tony and had been let back into his life. But everyone knew that things between them were never quite the same after, that they had this awkward kind of tension until the day Steve died and now Tony mourned him, feeling guilty over never patching things up. 

Peter didn’t want that. He’d rather Tony cut him off completely than tease him with only half a relationship. 

The boys stopped by Peter’s locker. A few people had made eyes at Harry but no one had directly approached him yet, Peter guessed they were likely saving their comments for when Harry and Peter were out of earshot. Harley Keener was the first person to approach. 

“Hey, Harry, it’s good to see you back” he said, coughing awkwardly as he approached the two boys by Peter’s locker, “I didn’t hear you were coming back so soon.”

“Last minute decision” Harry replied with a smile, “Decided Pete here needed a bit of support at school today.”

Harley nodded and narrowed his eyes as he looked at Peter, who hunched his shoulders back in an almost defensive way. 

“Why?” Harley asked, “You think I was about to come over and cuss him out in the middle of the school hallway?”

“Nothing I wouldn’t deserve” Peter muttered.

“Stop that” Harley snapped, “We both said things we regret this weekend. What you said to Tony was way over the line, but what I said to you was just as bad.”

“What do you mean?” Peter asked.

“What I said” Harley repeated, “Don’t make me have to say it again, Pete.”

“You two need some time to talk” Harry interjected quickly, “I need to go and tell the admissions office I need a new class schedule and all that, so-I’ll come and find you at lunchtime, OK, Pete? See ya around, Harley…”

“Bye” Peter said softly as his cousin scurried off. Harley raised his eyebrows and slumped a little against Peter’s locker as the first period bell went off. Neither acknowledged it. 

“So….what’s it like living with Sam and Bucky?” Harley asked casually. 

“Great” Peter replied snarkily, “We can stay up really late, I don’t have to put a god damn coaster under everything and Bucky isn’t aware of social norms yet so walks around nearly naked a lot. I’m pretty damn happy there.”

“Don’t do this” Harley groaned.

“Don’t do what?” Peter asked.

“This Tony thing” Harley said in an exasperated tone, “Where you’re hurt and upset and too damn stubborn to admit it, so you act like everything’s fine and you’re above it all. I’ve had enough of him doing it at home, I don’t need this level of bullshit from you as well. Me and you don’t do that. We’re brothers, for fuck sake, just freakin’ _talk_ to me.”

Peter flared up a little and gnashed his teeth.

“Fine, you wanna talk, let’s talk” he snapped, “Let’s talk about the fact that you hung me completely out to dry in front of the entire team. Didn’t say a word, didn’t jump in and stop Tony saying all those things about me! And then you have the nerve to say that I’m too fucked up to be a part of a real family after all, how many times have we talked about that fear?! I speak to you about everything-“

“I am so sorry about what I said” Harley snapped back, almost pleadingly, “I was angry and desperate and I didn’t mean a word of it. Even if I maybe did at the time, I was being fucking stupid. I’m really sorry for it all, Peter.”

“But is it enough?” Peter asked as he slammed his locker shut, “Is being sorry enough to fix this, Harley? I want to, god I want to, but I just don’t know if I can do this anymore. You, Tony, Pepper, Nate. I love you all so much but maybe you’re right, maybe I am too fucked up to have you all. Chaos just follows me; this was meant to be our happy ending and I still managed to fuck it all up.”

“Peter, life being shitty to you doesn’t mean that you’re some kind of curse” Harley replied, “This wasn’t because you have bad luck, you were doing this for all the right reasons. To protect Harry. You recognized there was this ticking time bomb that could have blown us all apart anyway and you actually did something about it.”

“Yeah, and I destroyed us in the process” Peter groaned. 

“God are you actually Tony’s secret son” Harley smirked, “You’re both so melodramatic. Things are bad at the moment but they’re not broken, Peter. Tony is beside himself. He missed you so much, it’s so obvious, he just doesn’t know how to reach out to you. The only reason we’re all still apart is because we don’t talk enough. But we can fix that by actually starting to fucking talk to one another. Including me and you. Cos clearly, we’re not in the best of states either.”

“What you said really hurt me” Peter told him honestly. 

“And what you said to Dad really made me mad” Harley said with a shrug, “And I’m sorry for not speaking up when they started laying into you. That was-that was cowardly. I’m sorry.”

Peter took a deep breath and closed his eyes before smiling when they re-opened.

“So, where do we go from here?” he asked.

“We move at your pace” Harley told him, “I’m not trying to emotionally blackmail you or anything but Nate’s been missing you like crazy, we need you back. But it’s up to you and Tony when you sort things out.”

Peter nodded.

“There’s something I need to tell you” he sighed, “I didn’t plan on it, but I kind of might need some help getting into prison to see Thaddeus Ross…”

Harley groaned.

“Do you ever take a freakin’ break?” he asked good naturedly, “Shit, Peter…..well, you may as well run it by me…..”

*

Harry had never felt like more of an outsider as he trudged his ways towards the administrative office, all eyes were on him and usually, he would have relished that attention. He always had. But now was different. Here he was. Harry Osborne: tragic orphan with mental health issues who no one had seen since the summer. Not Darren Davenport, King of the School. More to the point, he was feeling the loss of Ricky now more than ever and caught his breath as he passed Ricky’s old locker and saw that it had been left intact with various tributes pinned to it.

“I imagine they’ll take it down after this year’s over” Liz Allan’s voice came ringing out softly from behind Harry, “Ricky would’ve graduated, we’re all going, it’ll be some freshman kid’s next year no doubt. But I guess it was nice of them to keep it like this whilst all his friends are still here.”

“Yeah, I guess” Harry replied, holding back tears as he turned around to face his ex-girlfriend and tried to give her a winning smile, “Hey, Liz.”

“Hey, Harry” she replied with a smile, “It’s good to see you back. You’ve been missed.”

“Feels strange” Harry sighed, “Being here. Without him. Without being who I used to be. I guess it’s not really hit me just how much everything has changed until I walked back through those doors.”

“And what made you do that?” Liz asked, “As far as I knew, you were doing senior year from home. To be honest, I felt like that was the best option for you. I don’t really understand why you’d want to put yourself through coming back here and being the talk of the town if you could.”

“Peter’s here” Harry replied with a shrug.

“Peter’s always been here” Liz smirked, “Why would that make a difference now?”

“You don’t know?” Harry asked, “Liz, Tony and Pepper kicked him out. Or he left. He’s not being very clear about it.”

“He’s left?!” Liz exclaimed, “Why would he do that? What happened? It must’ve been something massive, they were all inseparable.”

“Well, I won’t go into details” Harry replied as he took a deep breath, “But let’s just say that Tony and Pepper weren’t too happy about Peter outing himself as Spider-Man…”

Liz nodded as the bell rang and people started rushing to class.

“Sorry, I have to go” she sighed, resting an arm on his, “But look, it was really nice talking to you, maybe we could meet up at lunch time or something?”

“Or after school?” Harry asked, “Maybe that’d be-“

“I have a date with Eddie after school” Liz said brightly and Harry tried to ignore the overwhelming feelings of jealousy that took over his body when he remembered she was with someone new now, “We heard there’s meant to be a beautiful meteor shower over New York tonight and the Bugle has asked him to get some pictures of it so it’s dinner and then cozying up in Central Park. I can’t wait.”

“That-that’s great” Harry said, feigning a smile as Liz waved to him and hurried away, catching some girlfriends who were waiting for her at the end of the hallway. They all started whispering, presumably about Harry.

“You know, that girl is actually a lot more insensitive than she seems” a droll, familiar voice rang out behind Harry. Smiling, he turned and faced Michelle Jones. “And people say I’m emotionally stunted.”

“Jones” Harry said cordially, “What’re you doing here? Thought you were deadest on avoiding the limelight and certain handsome, doe-eyed idiots who definitely didn’t cheat on you…”

MJ rolled her eyes and stepped forward; Harry took this as a queue that she wanted to actually walk with him. So, he did.

“School is school” she sighed, “Besides, I’ve been cooped up inside for long enough and Mr. Stark’s agreed to give me and my Mom basic security so she feels a bit better about letting me go. We only got the call on Saturday night.”

“Funny that” Harry smirked bitterly, “Tony probably decided to give you that just after he unceremoniously kicked Peter out.”

“From what Harley’s told me, I feel like Peter pretty much left of his own accord” MJ replied, looking a little confused. 

“You say tomato” Harry shrugged, “But I feel like you should know Peter better than that. Even if he made it look like he left of his own accord, deep down, d’you really think he’d do that?”

MJ shook her head. 

“How is he?” she asked.

“Lost” Harry replied simply, “But dealing with, just like he always deals with it. He’s amazing, really, definitely the strongest person I’ve ever met. And definitely _not_ a love rat.”

“I know” MJ sighed, “I overreacted and just-“

“Hey, save the speech for Peter” Harry told her sternly, “Don’t waste it on me, Jones. All I wanna do is re-register for my classes and keep my head down. I don’t need to be brought into any more drama than I’m already in too deep with.”

“This isn’t drama!” MJ exclaimed, sounding somewhat horrified.

“You’re huffing and moping because you think your dumb boyfriend kissed someone else” Harry told her with a smirk, “This is pure 90210 bullshit, Michelle Jones, and I thought you were always well above that. Sort your shit with Peter out and quickly because he’s miserable without you and there’s no real reason for you to be apart.”

“I, err” MJ seemed a little dumbfounded, “Gwen Stacy is-“

“I’ll talk to this Gwen Stacy” Harry replied, rolling his eyes, “I’ve never met her yet and I hear she’s an attractive blonde so…”

“You’re gross”

“You’re surprisingly melodramatic”

“You’re a vapid pretty boy. You and Gwen will be perfect for one another.”

“Fine. You and Peter can be the guests of honor at our make-believe bullshit fairytale wedding if you get your head out your ass and go sort your shit out.”

“Damn, didn’t realize you could snark so good” MJ replied with a smile, “Maybe now I might finally be able to start respecting you a little.”

“Highest compliment in the land” Harry said, flashing her his winning smile and somehow managing to do so without it feeling like a veiled strain, “Now, if you excuse me, I need to go and tell Mr. Harrington that his favourite Biology student is back in the house.”

“Fine, I need to go and makeup with my dumb idiot boyfriend” MJ said, smiling as she flipped him the bird and walked away, “Nice to have you back, Darry or Harren or whatever you wanna be called.”

“Thanks, Shelley!”

“I will end you.”

*

“You’re insane.”

“Well, I think that’s a bit harsh.”

“Peter, look at this shit from an outsiders perspective” Harley snapped, “You’re telling me that on top of revealing your own secret identity and overseeing the falsification of E-mails to make the disgraced ex-Secretary of State plead guilty to human trafficking charges you’re also now planning to go and sneak a visit with said disgraced Secretary in the highest security American prison on dry land in the company of a six year old boy who is weirdly in tune with the emotions of everyone around him and a girl who can read and manipulate peoples minds and memories in order to get him to confirm that what a dark, mysterious stranger who you met in Central Park at midnight with your cousin, who this time last year, had a completely different fucking name might I add, told you about him running sex trafficking operations out of the White House is actually true.”

“OK, fine” Peter conceded with a smirk, “But it’s good insane, right?”

“It’s _noble_ insane, if anything” Harley said begrudgingly, “I mean, for God sake Peter, how d’you keep finding yourself in these situations?”

“I don’t know” Peter said defensively, “I certainly don’t ask for them, but I can’t exactly ignore this one can I, Harley? Even if I didn’t want to, I’d have to. It’s not the kind of thing you can hear about and just ignore, is it?”

“No, I suppose not” Harley sighed, “But at the very least, can we talk about when all this is done and how I’m going to make Tony buy a private island miles away from anywhere and just leave you on it for like six months.”

“Knowing my luck, it’d be the island from Lost” Peter smirked. Harley did too. 

“Peter, what you’re asking here is huge” Harley sighed, “And it’s asking me to repeat the same mistakes we literally just made. Not being clear with Tony. Conspiring. Lying. But on top of that, you’re asking me to put Nate in the firing line and I’m sorry Peter, but I’m not willing to do that. Even if I was, it’s Rhodey who’s got the final say on where Nate goes and who with, and there’s no way in hell that we can persuade him to agree to this.”

“Well, them let’s change our tactic!” Peter exclaimed, “We’ll go to the tower tonight and just spell out everything to everyone, crystal clear. Like I said, this isn’t an allegation that anyone with any kind of a moral fiber can hear and then just ignore.”

“Peter, Tony can’t even hear your name right now” said Harley, “He misses you and it’s killing him but he’s still pissed with you. If you turn up, two days after an argument over plotting and conspiracies, with an even higher stakes plot and conspiracy d’you really think he’s gonna hear you out with an open mind?”

“I have to try, Harley, I have to” Peter said resolutely.

“But why?” Harley asked, “Why does the weight of the world always have to fall on your shoulders, Peter? Can’t you just pass this on to Fury and let SHIELD deal with it? Why do you always have to get involved?”

Peter sighed. 

“I’ve never told you all that much about the night Ben died, have I?” Peter asked.

Harley shook his head.

“I know the need to knows” he said, “I know what happened, who saw, where it was, where you went, how May came and found you at the police station. I don’t know any details, really.”

“When someone knows they’re dying, they become…I dunno, other worldly somehow” Peter said slowly, trying to piece together how best to say it in his own mind, “It wasn’t like Steve. He didn’t see death staring him in the face until it was too late. But Ben. He knew. He was conscious and he knew that he was dying and he looked at me, Harley, he looked at me so deeply that it felt like he could see every stupid, foolish, selfish part of me and that stare vaporized them all. He knew. I’d been bitten by then, I had my powers, but I hadn’t told anyone and somehow he knew….he must have known. He must’ve known cos his last words were ‘Peter, with great power, comes great responsibility. When you can stop bad things from happening but choose not to, the bad things are on you’. Not ‘I love you’ or ‘tell May that I love her’, his last words were telling me that I had a responsibility. He was looking death in the face and he still chose to tell me that. So, that’s why-“

“Peter, he was-“

“Dying? Yeah, but you weren’t there Harley, you didn’t see” Peter snapped, “I guess maybe you’ll never understand unless you’ve seen anyone die like that. Nothing else matters in that moment. Reality stops being reality. I’m not religious, I don’t really believe….but, I dunno…it just gave me a sense that I have to do shit like this. Not because I want to. But because I have to and then…then eventually that bleeds into me wanting to cos I just wanna nail the bastards.”

Harley sighed. 

“This is too deep for nine on a Monday” he groaned, “Peter, I will help you. I will. Maybe I’ll never understand because I don’t have your kind of powers but I do know right from wrong. And ignoring this and letting him get away with it would be wrong. But we have to be careful, Peter, we have to make sure everyone who needs to know, knows from the start.”

“But, you just said-“

“Tony will come around” Harley said sharply, “I know he will. Like you said, no one with anything resembling a moral compass will want to act on this. And Tony has the biggest moral compass of anyone I’ve ever met. He’ll help, even if he does bitch all the way through it.”

“Thanks” Peter said honestly, “You’ve always got my back, Harls.”

“What else are brothers for?” Harley sighed as he rested an arm on Peter’s shoulder, “Y’know, it’s funny, when my Mom lost custody and I had that last meeting with her, she warned me that moving to New York would harden me even more. Make me even more closed off and stunted than I was in Rose Hill. But she was wrong. Look at us, angsting on a set of bleachers yeah, but no hardness. No bitterness. Just us, together, supporting one another because we love each other too fucking much not to.”

“I feel like we should be smoking or something” Peter smirked. 

“It would definitely add to the aesthetic” Harley replied with a smile, “But Pepper would sus us out in an instant and then we’d be done for. Forget conspiring in the biggest trial in American history, Pepper Potts catches us with cigarettes and we’re not seeing the light of day until we’re 34.”

“It’s nice she cares” Peter said wistfully, “I want to sort this out with them, Harley. I want to come home and be a family again. I miss everyone too much and I’ve really liked spending time with Bucky, Harry and Sam but-“

“But they’re gross and smelly?” Harley asked.

“Well, it’s definitely not as clean” Peter smirked, “What I was actually gonna say is that I find Bucky and Sam too attractive to live with. It’s distracting. Sam walked around in a towel for like three hours yesterday morning and I felt more breathless than I did in Russia. I can’t live there permanently. They’re too hot, especially now Bucky’s had his hair cut-“

“Wait, what?” Harley asked, “How…how does he look with it?”

“Oh, he’s gone from like an eleven out of ten to a straight…maybe thirteen” Peter chuckled, “It’s obscene.”

“It’s what Steve would have wanted” Harley smirked as he looked to the heavens, causing Peter to laugh out loud.

“I’ve fucking missed you” he wheezed, “Even if it was barely two days. Fuck-“

*

Harry’s morning went more or less without incident. He sat with Sadie Clarke in his first class of the day, Geography, and barely managed to listen to anything as Sadie insisted on catching up with every little last piece of school gossip that had taken place since September in a low whisper. Harry didn’t think he’d particularly gained anything from finding out that Brad Davis and Cindy Moon had been having some background, Romeo and Juliette-esque love affair between the basketball team and the Academic Decathlon team. Liz had not been too happy, apparently. But Harry was more than happy to listen to Sadie’s gossiping than he was most things, so he found it hard to resent. 

Physics has been next where Betty Brant had proven herself to be more of a practical and helpful partner in terms of doing actual work. Following the class, Betty had insisted on allowing him to accept copies of her incredibly meticulous set of notes that she’d been keeping (and color-coordinating!) since September. Harry had tried to refuse but Betty had this weirdly intense Hermione Granger-esque quality to her that made him honestly, a little bit scared of her, so he’d accepted.

By the time Lunch rolled around, Harry was in a pretty good mood but was a man on a mission. He wanted to seek out this Gwen Stacy and talk to her himself. He knew what she looked like – blessings of Facebook – and promptly found her, surprisingly sitting alone with a love-struck looking Eugene Thompson by her side. His face paled somewhat when he saw Harry approach, especially as Gwen diverted her attention away from him and looked at Harry with keen interest. 

“Dar-I mean, Harry, what’re you doing here, man?” Flash practically yelped. 

“Decided it was time I came back” Harry replied, before extending his hand out, “We’ve not met by the way, I’m Harry Osborne. Formally Davenport. It’s confusing.”

“Yeah, not really, if you can follow basic explanation” Gwen replied with a smile as she shook Harry’s hand, “I’m Gwen Stacy, but you probably already knew that, seen as though the whole world was talking about me all weekend.”

“Do I detect a hint of bitterness there?” Harry asked.

“Oh no, I just love being branded a blonde-haired harlot by Fox News on the hour, every hour. My Dad has never been more proud” Gwen shot back. Harry smirked and sat down. Gwen turned her attention to Flash and shot him what looked to be the falsest smile in the world, though the boy who was receiving it didn’t seem to realize it. Harry suppressed a smirk. 

“Eugene, what’s my next class?” she asked. 

“Err, History, I think” Flash replied.

“Great” Gwen said with another smile, “You wouldn’t be a dear and take my notes from my locker to the class now, would you? I’d quite like to talk to Harry in private and you’d be doing me a really big favor.”

“Yeah, sure” Flash said and too Harry’s amazement, the expression on his face seemed to suggest that Flash believed somehow he was the winner in all of this. 

“Thanks, you’re a doll” Gwen replied with a smile as Flash got up and took both of their now empty lunch trays with him, “You know the combo, OK-bye!”

Harry laughed as Gwen’s face fell into a frown the second Flash was out of her eyeline. 

“Wow, your boyfriend is whipped” Harry noted.

“Yeah, not my boyfriend” Gwen replied, “He err-kept following me around, trying to impress me, so I thought I may as well get some usage out of it. It’s quite sweet really, like a puppy.”

“Regina George would be proud” Harry said with a smile, “So, I just-“

“Oh, let me guess” Gwen sighed, “You’ve come here to do some big macho man act about how I’m a rotten skank and I should leave nice and innocent Peter Parker alone so him and the girl who draws a frankly disturbing amount of skulls can carry on being in love together in peace”

“Well, I-“

“Let me save you some time” Gwen carried on, “You don’t need to worry about me and Peter Parker because there is no me and Peter Parker. That died the second he fed me to the wolves that we call the modern media and didn’t even bother to check up on me. So, I don’t need to be told to stay away from Peter Parker because I have no intention of ever seeing or speaking to him again, bubble butt or no bubble butt. I’m ignoring him forever.”

“Yeah, I don’t think he’s noticed” Harry said slowly, “Listen, Peter’s a good guy. We all know that, but he has a lot going on and I do think it’s for the best that you’ve exiled him from your life. Not because I think you’re poison or anything like that but…well, there’s a lot of shit going on that you don’t need to get involved with…”

“Oh yeah” Gwen asked quietly, “Like, what?”

“None of your business” Harry said sticking his tongue out, “Look, Peter will probably seek you out to say sorry in his own time, until then just carry on doing the golden job you’re doing of ignoring him until he realizes. Denial is the best way to deal with any problem.”

“You’re mocking me” Gwen noted.

“Who? Me? No.” Harry replied

“Listen, I don’t have to justify my actions to you” Gwen snapped, “I know that Peter didn’t intend for any of this to happen but it has and because I’m the perceived other woman, it’s opened me up to being called every name under the son. I want Peter Parker to be eaten by a lion.”

“So, you don’t have a crush on him anymore?” Harry asked, raising his eyebrows. 

“Hell no” Gwen snapped, “I mean, don’t get me wrong, he’s still hot as holy hell and that Spider-Man outfit catches him in all the right places but the crush has gone. I don’t crush on weasels.”

“Oh, Peter’s not a weasel” Harry said flippantly, “He’s more like a very well meaning and occasionally idiotic ferret or something.”

“You’re strange” Gwen noted with a frown, “Aren’t you meant to be like…emotionally broken or something?”

“Oh, I am” Harry assured her, “It’s a party in my head and believe me, you don’t want an invite. That said, how would you like an invite to dinner with me on Friday?”

“Seriously?” Gwen asked, “You’re asking me out.”

“Why not?” Harry said with a shrug and a smile, “You’re a free agent, I’m a free agent, we’re both hot as hell and have clear mental issues – I’d say we’re a perfect match.”

“I do not have mental issues” Gwen said defensively, “Eurgh, you’re a jerk.”

“And yet, you haven’t said no yet” Harry replied.

“Well, there’s a very simple reason for that” Gwen replied quietly.

“Oh yeah, what’s that then?” Harry asked keenly.

“I don’t want to” Gwen said as she broke out into a smile, “Fine, fine, we can grab dinner on Friday and see where we go. At the very least, it might stop everyone thinking that I’m trying to steal Peter away from Wednesday Adams.”

“Hey, don’t insult MJ, she’s better than all of us” Harry snapped, “And Peter loves her. A lot.”

“OK, fine, I’ll hold back” Gwen said sweetly, “I know she’s a nice girl and that they’re in love. I never meant to get in the way of anything, it was just a kiss on the cheek that the world decided to blow up and take out of context.”

“Good” Harry replied with a smile, “Because I think that we’ve all been through enough and there’s probably going to be some tough times ahead, so Peter needs as much love and support from people as he can get. That includes MJ.”

Gwen smiled.

“You’re really protective of him aren’t you?” she asked. 

“Yeah, I am” Harry said fondly as he watched Peter walk into the cafeteria, thankfully hand in hand with MJ who was resting her head on his shoulders. Harley followed, looking slightly frustrated. Harry couldn’t help the smile that reached across his face. Gwen returned it. “He’s-he’s kinda all I have at this point, he’s honestly the nicest person I’ve ever known. I don’t deserve him.”

“I’m sure that’s not true” Gwen said sweetly, “The part about you not deserving him, not the part about him being nice. I know he’s nice.”

“You don’t know the half of it” Harry sighed.

“Well, maybe one day you’ll tell me” she replied, “I better be on my way, anyway, Eugene’s probably having a panic attack waiting for me in the classroom.”

“Put the poor guy out of his misery” Harry smirked, “He’s kinda nice underneath all of the bull crap, helped me a lot this summer, don’t string him along.”

Gwen smiled.

“Not really creating a good impression for myself am I?” she sighed.

“People’s capacity for forgiveness is surprising, believe me” Harry replied, “I’ll see you on Friday, then?”

“Dude, there’s like four days between now and Friday” Gwen smirked, “I’ll probably see you this afternoon.”

*

“I’m sorry”

“No, I’m sorry”

“Oh my god-“

“Harley, stop interrupting.”

“You’ve been apologizing to one another for forty-five minutes” Harley groaned as he rested his head on the dinner table, “Just make it stop, we know you’re both sorry.”

“Peter, I’m so sorry that I thought you would cheat on me” MJ said for the thirty-fourth time in the space of an hour, “And I am super sorry for slapping you in front of everyone and saying what I said about you. I am so sorry.”

“No, you’re not the one who needs to apologize” Peter replied, “I lied to you and betrayed your trust and I deserved-“

“Aww, look at the two of you” Harry said happily as he came over and joined them at their table. MJ smiled and kissed Peter on the cheek, “All made up and apologetic.”

“Oh, Harry, you have no idea” Harley groaned as he picked his head off the table, “One minute, me and Peter are talking on the bleachers, the next MJ is there, Peter’s crying and they’re both just saying ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry’ over and over and over. Then, they just start making out in front of me for like forty-five minutes-“

“You could have left” MJ snapped.

“Oh no. No, no, no” Harley shot back. Peter smiled, he loved when Harley’s flare for the overdramatic showed itself, “Because walking away would break my new rule of _never letting Peter the fuck out of my sight, ever_. Because you know what happens when I let Peter out of my sight? Bad. Things. Like he gets kidnapped and taken to Russia or he nearly falls off the Empire State Building or some strange guy tells him about the government’s sex trafficking secret and-“

“Hold up, what?!” MJ interjected once again, “They’re doing what now-“

“Yeah, I meant to get to that bit” Peter said slowly, “But we’re on top of it. Totally on top of it.”

“How so?” MJ asked with her eyebrows raised.

“We’re, err, gonna sneak in to prison and ask Ross about it” Peter cringed through his own answer as MJ looked deeply skeptical and unimpressed. 

“That’s the worst plan I think I’ve ever heard Parker, you dumbass” she said bluntly but with undeniable fondness, “If anything, you need to lay low and see if this guy ever contacts you again. What if it was just some random creep?”

“He did say to keep an eye on the mail” Harry interjected, “Said that he was going to send proof in the mail, I guess it makes sense not act before we get that.”

“No post on Sunday’s” Peter noted, “So, it might have come today. I’m assuming this guy probably knew that I was staying with you, Sam and Bucky right?”

“I assume, he was creepy in that ‘knows everything about you’ kinda way” Harry replied.

“So, what do we do?” Harley asked.

“Simple” MJ sighed, “Keep this between the four of us. Head back to Harry’s after school, see if anything’s been sent, and then make a decision if it has. If it hasn’t, I say we give the dude a week and then if nothing happens we forget we ever heard anything. If he gets into contact with you again, then we repeat the pattern.”

“Wow” said Harley

“That sounded almost rational” Harry noted.

“She’s making the plans from now on” Harley smirked, “Sorry Pete, yours are too convoluted and self-sacrificing. MJ all the way.”

“That was just….so sexy” Peter told MJ as he looked up at her and smiled. She smiled back and they were making out once again.

“Oh, gross”

“Yeah, welcome to my morning.”

*

The rest of Peter’s afternoon was spent obsessing between whether he’d got any post at home, how to make things right with Tony and being deliriously happy that he’d managed to make things right with Harley and MJ so quickly. Harry had told him Gwen might not be so easy to win around but then he’d revealed that he’d asked her out on Friday and she’d said yes, so Peter figured the situation would more or less resolve itself. Still, he figured he should apologize to her.

“Because I don’t have feelings for her, no way, no how” Peter felt the need to explain to MJ once again as they walked hand in hand down the hallway at the end of the day, “I just feel bad that I’ve let the Internet talk shit about you and her and she deserves an apology.”

“I ain’t arguing with you on this one, Parker” MJ smirked, “You fucked up, your mess to fix. At least you didn’t end up groveling and begging for Harley’s forgiveness in the end. I can’t believe he didn’t tell me the full story, I still kinda wanna punch him for it.”

“Please don’t” Peter sighed, “We’re in a good place now, I don’t need my girlfriend beating him up.”

“Fine, but he’s on thin fucking ice” MJ warned, “Especially if he ever makes another crack about you being too fucked up to have a family. That’s punch to the throat shit.”

“Aww, babe, you’re so protective” Peter cooed as he put his hands-on MJ’s hips and pulled her in closer to him so they could kiss, “But please don’t beat up my brother. I was an ass to him, he was an ass to me, it’s how the world goes around. But he didn’t mean it, so let it go? For me?”

“Fine” MJ huffed, “But I’m upping the snark. I’ve been too nice to him for too long and I’ve decided to tone it down with Harry now he’s taken one for the team and asked Taylor Swift out.”

“I actually think he might genuinely like her” Peter replied.

“Or, he’s just trying to make Liz jealous” MJ said with a shrug, “I saw them talk this morning and then he had that sad puppy dog look on his face when she walked away. You have the same one. Damn, how did nobody guess you were related before?”

Peter shrugged as Gwen Stacy brushed past his elbow.

“Oh, hey Gwen! Wait!” Peter called, chasing after her. 

“Oh look if it isn’t Chem Lab’s answer to Justin Bieber” Gwen snarled, “What do you want, Peter? I already told Harry that I’m not mad and that you don’t need to apologize so-“

“Well, bullshit to that” Peter snapped, “I let you get shit talked online, at the very least you get an apology. I could also offer you stock shares in Stark Industries if you want.”

Gwen smiled.

“I’ll think about it” she said with a smirk. “Fine. Damn it, I knew this would happen the second you talked to me, that’s why I tried to ignore your puppy ass. You’re forgiven, or whatever. I know you didn’t mean any harm and I’m sorry if I caused any problems between you and Michelle.”

“You didn’t, that one’s all on me” Peter said lightly, “But I appreciate you accepting my apology and I really hope you enjoy your date with Harry on Friday. I think you guys will really suite one another.”

“He seems nice” Gwen shrugged, “And you just need to promise to get your pheromones under control. Can’t have a kick-ass lady like MJ having to go through this again, can we?”

“Hell no” MJ said as she caught up with them, “Gwen, I want you to know, other than when I briefly gave into Betty’s suggestion that I imagine my Dad’s old dartboard was your head on Saturday afternoon, I’ve not been mad at you.”

“Thanks” Gwen replied, “I appreciate that…..so, friends?”

“Learning environment acquaintances” MJ said with a smile as she took Peter’s hand and they hurried to catch up with Harry and Harley. Peter turned around and saw Gwen smile brightly to herself before heading to her car. He kissed MJ on the cheek.

“You didn’t have to do that” he told her.

“I don’t do petty arguments over boys” MJ reminded him, “It’s a waste of everyone’s times. There ain’t no love triangle here, just a huge misunderstanding and you being a moron.”

“Am I ever gonna live it down?” Peter asked. 

“Nah” MJ said, stopping to kiss him, “But let’s move on from it now. We’ve got bigger things to focus on, maybe.”

They caught up to Harry and Harley and piled into the back of Harley’s car that had been a recent present from Tony. Peter had refused one because now he could openly be Spider-Man, it made more economic sense to just swing everywhere. 

Harley drove back to Sam and Bucky’s place where the teens virtually sprinted up the stairs to see if they’d received any mail.

They had.

It was on the dining room table.

“Boys, you’ve got an ominous looking letter” Sam said. He was sitting around the table with Bucky, Natasha and Wanda. The letter was opened, “Now, is anyone gonna tell me what the fuck is going on? What are y’all up to now?”

“We err-“ Harry began.

“What’s in it?” Peter asked quickly, “Please, I-I need to know.”

“Co-ordinates to what appears to be an abandoned warehouse down by the Brooklyn waterfront” Natasha replied, “Are you on drugs? Is this where your dealer lives and operates?”

“No, is that seriously why you called her here?” Peter asked Sam.

“No, she’s here because she’s scary and will make you tell the truth” Sam replied sharply, “Now, tell us want these co-ordinates mean and then we can actually help your scrawny asses solve a problem before it blows up all out of control. Again.”

Peter took a deep breath and looked at Harley, who nodded. MJ squeezed his hand as Peter took a seat at the table and began to explain everything about the guy in the park.

*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some actual ACTION in the next chapter, which I'm looking forward too.
> 
> DidSomeoneSayIronLad?
> 
> Wasn't me
> 
> Anyway, please leave your thoughts down below,  
> Much love,  
> Jamie  
> xxxx

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! As I said above, feel free to leave a comment below and ask if you need something clarifying. Many thanks!


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